


The Stars Shine Still

by astro_noms



Series: Full of Stars [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, Big Bang Challenge, F/M, M/M, Multi, Space Opera
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-01
Updated: 2011-01-01
Packaged: 2017-10-26 09:38:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 28,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/281511
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astro_noms/pseuds/astro_noms
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver, the long-lost Crown Prince of Cassadia Archele, sets out to regain the throne from his usurper uncle. Unfortunately, the duke isn't about to give up the power he stole twenty five years ago without a fight. Oliver now has to dodge assassins, and with the help of the crew of the L.S. <em>Nemesis</em>, he manages to barely escape with his life. Drifting in space, they're found by the <em>Kraken</em>, flagship of the Pirate King.</p>
<p>Titus Casey has secrets, things he's kept even from Oliver. When the <em>Kraken</em>'s captain takes an interest in the <em>Nemesis</em> and her crew, Titus won't be able to avoid his past anymore. He'll have to juggle family, duties, and obligations, as well as doing whatever he can to help Oliver survive. Along the way, political alliances will be made, families will be reunited, and a war for the planet will be waged.</p>
<p>Featuring royal heritage revelations, space orphans, pirate weddings, space soap operas, space battles, and multiple happily ever afters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Stars Shine Still

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://community.livejournal.com/originalbigbang/profile)[**originalbigbang**](http://community.livejournal.com/originalbigbang/) 2011\. See the [master post]() in the comm for author's notes and links to bonus material. Follows directly after last year's OFBB story, [Should the Sky Fall](http://archiveofourown.org/works/128807).

Oliver had just pinned Titus to his bed when the alarms went off, followed by Teri's voice coming from the comms console.

"Everybody hang on to something, we've got trouble. Oliver, we need you up here on the bridge ASAP."

"Don't go," Titus said, squirming under Oliver. "Pretend you're asleep."

Oliver pressed a kiss to Titus' lips, letting himself linger a bit, before sitting up. "If there's some sort of trouble, we should both be on the bridge." He slid off the bed, reaching for his clothes, and then turned back to Titus. "Guess we'll have to pick this up another time."

Titus groaned, rolling off the bed and coming to stand behind Oliver, rocking his hips against him. "Stay," he said. "Just for a bit."

The ship rocked, sending them stumbling against the bed. The mood irreparably broken, Titus picked up his pants from where he'd thrown them, and started putting them on. Once they were both dressed, they left Oliver's quarters and took off down the hall.

"It's a _Halcyon_ -class ship," Ash was telling Teri when they arrived on the bridge. "Three times bigger, much faster, and way better armed than we are."

"What's going on?" Oliver asked, taking his station.

"They're from Cassadia Archele," Teri told him, pulling up an exterior view on the main screen. The _Nemesis_ was being pulled toward the larger ship by a grapple attached to the hull.

"What do they want?"

"Captain Genet of the _Serene Coalescence_ wished to speak to Crown Prince Oliver," Teri told him. "I told her you were off-duty, and that you'd speak with her when you arrived for your shift in the morning."

"I take it she didn't like your answer?" Titus asked.

"It's a good thing Alex is in sickbay," Teri said. "She'd be so pissed at Genet for scratching up her ship," Teri glared at the display, and Oliver could see the grapple had actually punctured the hull.

"Why is Alex is sickbay? Is something wrong?" Oliver turned back to Teri.

"Dirk's swapping out her nanites. We needed to get further away from Eurydice before you took us into hyperspace, so they figured they had the night to do it."

"Uh, guys?" Ash turned away from his console. "I think they're spinning up their jump drive."

"What the hell?" Teri slammed her hand down on her comms console. " _Serene Coalescence_ , this is the _Nemesis_ , what the hell are you doing?" She repeated the hail several times, but there was no response from the larger ship. Finally, docking clamps closed around the _Nemesis_ , pulling it tight against the belly of the _Coalescence_.

Ash looked over the sensor readings, fingers flying over the console. "We have about thirty seconds before they're ready to jump."

"Hold on to something, everyone," Teri called out over ship-wide comms. "We're going for a ride." She'd barely finished speaking when the ship lurched, and the stars around them disappeared into quickly fading streaks, replaced by the shifting colors of hyperspace.

Teri let out the breath she'd been holding and reached for the comms console. "All stations, report your status."

Henry and Cal checked in from hydroponics, where they were "flying" in zero-g with Emily. Dirk reported from sickbay, fighting with Alex over the comms.

"What the hell is going on up there? Alex is two seconds away from jumping out of bed and heading to the bridge. And if she does that, I'll have to start all over again, and I don't have enough nanites for a second round."

"Then I'll wait until we're back at Eurydice," Alex grumbled. "I'm the captain, I need to be up on the bridge."

"No," Teri told her. "There's nothing you can do up here. Stay where you are, and let Dirk finish."

"Not if you don't tell me what's going on," Alex said, and Titus could hear the tone that said "tell me now, or I don't care if we're being shot at or ripped apart, I'm going to come up there and make you tell me" in her voice.

  
Teri heard it, too, because she sighed and leaned back in the captain's chair. "A Cassadia Archele ship hailed us, its captain wanted to speak to Oliver. When she didn't get what she wanted, she grappled the _Nemesis_ and took us for a ride. We're in hyperspace right now."

"Where are we headi— Ow!" She yelped. "What the hell was that?"

"That was a sedative," Dirk said. "I'm not going to risk you running out of here and ruining the procedure."

"You suck," Alex said, already sounding groggy. "Don't break my ship, or I'll kick your ass," she slurred.

"She's asleep," Dirk told Teri. "Whatever you're doing up there, you've got six hours to figure it out.

"Thanks," Teri said. "We'll do our best." She closed the comm channel and turned to Titus. "I want you to set up a looped signal, a basic hail, on all frequencies. Bombard them with it until they answer. I'm gonna go check how badly they've damaged us. Maybe we can get it patched up relatively quickly so Alex doesn't kill us."

After Teri left, Titus set up the hail and sent it out. "I hope this doesn't piss them off so much that they decide they'd rather not bother with us."

"Are you kidding?" Ash laughed. "You heard Teri. They want to speak to the crown prince," he pointed at Oliver. "They know you're here. Frankly, I'm surprised they'd endanger the ship you're on like that."

Oliver stared at Ash, then turned to Titus. "Turn it off. The signal, turn it off." He walked to the captain's chair and sat down in it, then activated the comms. " _Serene Coalescence_ , this is, uh, Oliver Hall. I believe your captain wished to speak with me?"

He didn't have to wait long. He'd barely leaned back in the chair when the comms beeped with a reply. Activating the screen, Oliver sat up straighter in the chair.

The stern-looking woman on the screen snapped to attention when she saw Oliver.

"Your Highness," she saluted him. "I am captain Illiana Genet of the _Serene Coalescence_ of the Cassadian fleet. I have been sent by Ambassador Garibaldi to retrieve you—"

"Captain," Oliver interrupted her, and she fell silent. "Do I look like an object to be _retrieved_ to you?"

"Highness—" she started again, but Oliver held up a hand.

"What made you think that you could attack our ship and kidnap us into hyperspace?"

"I attempted to communicate with your crew, and was brushed off," Genet spluttered. "She refused to let me speak with you!"

"She told you I was off-duty, and that I would speak with you in a few hours," Oliver said. "Surely you could have waited?"

"Highness, that... woman spoke as if she were your superior," Captain Genet said. "I could not have her speak that way of you."

"Lieutenant Clementis is the first officer of this ship, captain," Oliver said. "I am a member of the _Nemesis_ crew, and as such, I am under her command."

"You are a member of the royal house of Cassadia Archele, Highness!" Genet burst out. "The only duty you have is to your family and your planet."

"Do not presume to tell me my duty, captain," Oliver told her, getting to his feet. "I have not agreed to Ambassador Garibaldi's proposal. And frankly, after today, I am not particularly inclined to agree to it, ever."

Captain Genet pressed her lips together so tightly they practically vanished in a single tight line. "Your Highness, I apologize if I've overstepped my bounds," she bowed stiffly.

"There is no if about it, captain," Oliver told her. "You _have_ overstepped your bounds. Tell me, is Ambassador Grimaldi on board your ship?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Genet nodded.

"Good. I would like to speak with him at his earliest convenience. Do _not_ wake him if he is asleep, captain," he added when Genet turned away from the screen to speak to someone on her bridge. "This can wait until we've left hyperspace." Genet saluted, and Oliver cut the signal, leaning on the armrests of the captain's chair.

Titus came up behind him, resting a warm hand on his back. "Are you all right?"

Oliver shook his head. "No," he said, turning to face Titus. "I should have told Grimaldi no right from the start."

"What are you talking about?" Ash asked, gaping at him. "That was awesome. Cassadia's going to be in great hands when you're in charge."

"I'm not sure I _want_ to be in charge of a planet," Oliver said quietly. He got to his feet and walked back to his console, sliding into his chair. In the silence that fell over the bridge, he pulled up navigational data. After a while, he looked up and turned to face the bridge.

"If we can figure out a way to detach from them, I'm pretty sure I can guide us back to normal space. We can make a clean getaway."

"No, we can't," Teri said as she came onto the bridge. "I checked the damage from the grapple, and it's pretty bad. Unless they detach it first, that thing will rip a large chunk of our hull away. Large enough to cripple us and kill us all within hours."

"Oh," Oliver slumped in his chair.

"Guess we're going to Planet Space Squid," Ash said.

#

It was four hours, not six, before they had to deal with Alex. Teri had left Oliver in command, and he had slid down in the captain's chair as the night went on, half-asleep through most of it. Alex came onto the bridge just as the ship lurched slightly, and when Oliver snapped awake, he saw the normal star-spattered blackness of space on the viewscreen.

"I think we're here," Titus told him, entering a command on his console. The view on the main screen changed to show the planet they were orbiting, partially obscured by the larger ship hovering above them.

"What the hell is _that_?" Alex asked, and Oliver winced when he realized the grapple-punctured hull of the _Nemesis_ was in full view. "What have they done to my ship?"

"You can take it up with Captain Genet when you speak with her," Titus told her. "This wasn't our fault." He looked down at his console when it beeped at him. "Speaking of which, she's calling right now."

"Here," Oliver got out of the captain's chair, motioning Alex into it. "You're way better at this than I am."

"Don't sell yourself short," Alex told him, but took her seat. Oliver gave her a grateful smile and took his own seat at the nav console. "Open the channel," Alex told Titus.

When Captain Genet appeared on the screen, she frowned as she took in the scene on the _Nemesis_ bridge.

"Your Highness," she started, and Alex cut her off by clearing her throat.

"Excuse me, captain," she said, and Genet's frown deepened. "I believe there are certain protocols to be observed in a situation like this. Or have you decided to throw all the rules out the window when you decided to damage my ship and kidnap us?"

Captain Genet drew herself up to her full height, thrusting out her chin stubbornly. "I acted in the best interest of the mission I had been sent on. If your crew had not refused to let me speak to the Crown Prince, none of this would have been necessary."

"I'd like to know what part of 'he's off duty, call back in the morning' was grounds for an attack on my ship and my crew, Captain Genet," Alex told her. "Please, do explain."

Genet's eyes flicked to Oliver, who stared her down impassively. When she looked back to Alex, her lips were pressed together in a thin line. "I acted in the best interest of the mission," she repeated.

"You should have waited, Captain," someone said from behind her, and she turned to face the speaker, revealing Ambassador Grimaldi as she did. "Your orders were to contact the Crown Prince and offer him transport or an escort, not to bring him to Cassadia Archele by force."

"Sir, I—"

"Ambassador," Oliver cut in. "I understand Captain Genet is in for a reprimand, but perhaps we could leave that for another day? I believe there are some things we need to discuss?"

"Yes, of course," the ambassador nodded, turning away from Captain Genet. "Forgive me, Your Highness. When would you like to come aboard?"

Oliver glanced from the screen to Alex uncertainly. Alex nodded to him and cleared her throat.

"In the interest of keeping Mister Hall safe, there will be three of us coming with him, Ambassador," she said.

"As His Highness wishes," Grimaldi bowed.

"Why don't we meet in a couple of hours?" Oliver asked. "That will give us all time to get ourselves together."

"Of course, Highness," Grimaldi bowed again.

"We look forward to seeing you, Ambassador," Alex told him and closed the channel. "Are you going to be all right?"

"Once I've had a shower and something to eat, yeah," Oliver nodded.

"You and Titus, go clean up and get some rest," Alex said. "We'll hold down the fort here."

"Who's coming with me?"

"Titus and Henry will provide security, and I'll come along as well," Alex said. "If that's all right with you?"

"Yeah," Oliver nodded. "I was going to ask you to come anyway." He ran his hand over his face. "I'm sorry about the ship," he said. "I'll make sure Grimaldi sees to the repairs."

#

Titus walked behind Oliver, watching the tense lines of his back. It was the only sign of tension, and when Oliver paused before the cargo bay doors, Titus stepped close, pressing a hand to Oliver's shoulder and squeezing gently.

"It'll be all right," he said. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to."

"I'm afraid it's too late for that," Oliver said, turning to face Titus. "He wouldn't have gotten an ambassadorial ship involved if there wasn't some bigger plan in play already."

"You make it sound like you don't have a choice," Titus spluttered. "There's always a choice. We could leave," he said, pulling away from Oliver a bit. "We could just pack our things and leave."

"And then what?" Oliver reached for Titus, cupping his cheek. "Where would we go?" He slid a thumb over Titus' lips, stopping him from speaking. He leaned in, kissing Titus softly, then straightened up. "Come on. They're waiting." Before Titus could say anything, Oliver was stepping through the doors into the cargo bay, where Alex and Henry were waiting by the umbilical. It was already extended, and the airlock on the far end was open. If Titus squinted just right, he could see people waiting for them on the other side.

"She's all pressurized and ready to go," Alex said.

"You didn't have to dress up," Oliver said, taking in her fancy jacket and polished boots.

"I'm part of the escort for the crown prince of Cassadia Archele," Alex said, tugging at her jacket. "I have to look the part."

"How are we going to do this?" Titus asked.

"You and Henry are official security," Alex said. Henry came to stand beside her, his holster strapped to his thigh, the blaster gleaming against the black leather. "I'm hoping there won't be too much of a problem with you being armed," Alex nodded toward Titus' blaster, strapped into a shoulder holster.

"If they try to disarm us, we're turning right back around," Titus said, setting his jaw resolutely. "It's too much of a risk otherwise."

"Agreed," Henry said. "If they have a problem with us, they can send the ambassador over here."

"All right," Alex said. "Let's get going. Boys," she motioned Titus and Henry toward the umbilical. "After you."

When they reached the other side, Grimaldi stepped forward, wringing his hands nervously, and Titus forced himself to stay put and not push him away from Oliver.

"Thank you for seeing me, Your Highness," Grimaldi said, bowing to Oliver.

"Please, Ambassador, you don't have to—" Oliver flailed a bit until Grimaldi straightened up. "Perhaps we could just get to the matter at hand," he said.

"Yes, of course, Highness. If you'd like to follow me?" Grimaldi took several steps forward, then froze, turning back to Oliver. "Forgive me, Highness, I don't mean to—"

"Ambassador, I'd really appreciate it if we could drop at least some of the formalities," Oliver sighed. "I'm not the crown prince officially yet, perhaps you could call me Oliver?"

Grimaldi gasped, and Titus took pity on him. "Perhaps the ambassador would feel more comfortable using your last name instead?"

"Of course," Oliver nodded. "Please, sir, if you insist on formalities, I'd really appreciate it."

Grimaldi stared at them for a moment longer, then nodded. "Of course. My apologies... Mr. Hall."

"Thank you," Oliver beamed at him. "Now, why don't you lead the way and we'll get to business."

When they arrived in a conference room easily four times the size of any room on the _Nemesis_ , Titus hung back by the door with Alex and Henry, but Oliver put a hand on his arm and pulled him into a chair next to him.

"You don't mind if Mr. Casey stays with us, do you, Ambassador?"

Titus watched Grimaldi frown, and then nod. "Of course not," he said, nodding stiffly.

Oliver squeezed Titus' arm, and Titus moved back to the table, sitting down. Oliver gave him a brilliant smile, and turned to Grimaldi.

"Now, Ambassador, why don't you tell me what your plans are."

"I—" Grimaldi's mouth fell open as he stared at Oliver. "I'm not sure what you mean."

"Come now, Mr. Grimaldi," Oliver leaned across the table. "You wouldn't have risked an ambassadorial ship getting caught in a diplomatic incident if you didn't have a plan."

"The _Nemesis_ is a known smuggler ship," Grimaldi told Oliver, giving him an even look. "And as you yourself said, the _Serene Coalescence_ is an ambassadorial ship. Whose word do you think would carry more weight should such an incident develop?"

"Stop playing games with me, Ambassador," Oliver told him, a bit of steel creeping into his voice. "You wouldn't have brought us here against our wills for nothing. You've got a plan, and it involves me. I'd like to know what it is."

Grimaldi swallowed and nodded. "You're right," he said. "There is a resistance movement on the planet, has been for years. We've been searching for any trace of you or your parents, and now that we've found you, the time is right to move ahead." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, then let it out and sat up straight, opening his eyes. He unbuttoned his jacket and laid his hands flat on the table. "We'd like to bring you to Cassadia Archele, in secret. Once you're safe planetside, we'll start spreading the rumors about the lost heir being found, and then at the right moment, reveal you to the public."

"Why do you need him on the planet?" Titus asked, and Grimaldi sighed. When he spoke next, his bearing had changed—gone was the bumbling and timid diplomat, and in his place sat a weary man clinging to the last shreds of his endurance.

"Outwardly, Duke Alastair rules as Regent, until the lost heir is found. In reality, he's been consolidating his power for years, eliminating anyone and everyone who isn't fanatically loyal to him. If we let it be known that Mr. Hall here had been found, he would do everything in his power to have him found and killed."

Titus gaped at Grimaldi. "So you want to take him down to the planet ruled by the man who would do everything to kill him as soon as he found out about his existence? Are you insane?"

"We have ways of keeping his existence secret and keeping him safe," Grimaldi told Titus. "The less time there is between the news getting out and Mr. Hall being revealed to the public, the less time Alastair will have to act."

"This is crazy! Oliver, tell him!"

"I've done some reading on the history of Cassadia Archele," Oliver said quietly, staring at his hands. "The things Alastair has done... Titus, he's hurt them so much," his voice cracked on the last word. "If this is what I have to do, then so be it. I have to make sure he doesn't stay in power any longer than necessary. I'll do whatever you need me to."

"I'm coming with you," Titus said, and when Grimaldi glared at him, he glared right back. "He's not going down to that planet without me," he added.

"Titus," Oliver reached for his hand, and Titus jerked out of his reach. "Come on—"

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Grimaldi said after a moment. "Having someone by your side whom you can trust is a good idea. Assuming you trust Mr. Casey, of course."

"With my life," Oliver said, and this time Titus let him take his hand.

"Excellent," Grimaldi said. "We should—" He broke off when a tall woman Titus recognized as Captain Genet came into the room, heading straight for him.

"My apologies, Ambassador, but we have a problem. The _Vanguard_ is on its way from the surface."

Grimaldi closed his eyes for a moment. "I was afraid of this," he said.

"Afraid of what?" Titus asked.

"That the regent and his people would find out about our plans," he said. "I had hoped that my crew could be trusted, but it appears I was mistaken."

"Let me get this straight," Titus said, getting to his feet. "You weren't sure your crew was absolutely trustworthy, and you decided to bring Oliver here anyway?"

Grimaldi had the grace to look remorseful. "I am profoundly sorry," he told Oliver. "It was never my intention to endanger you."

Oliver took Titus' hand and squeezed it, the touch enough to calm him down a bit. "Is it possible the approaching ship is here to help us?"

Grimaldi shook his head. "The _Vanguard_ is the regent's flagship," he said.

"If we were able to detach right now, would we be able to make a getaway?" Alex asked from where she and Henry were standing.

"No way," Titus shook his head. "We've got too much damage to risk trying for hyperspace, even if there was a gate nearby, and in normal space, they'd outrun us in no time flat."

A comms channel chirped and Genet activated with a press of her fingers to the edge of the tabletop.

"Genet here."

"Captain, we've got incoming from the _Vanguard_. They want to speak with the ambassador."

"Of course they do," Grimaldi muttered. "Patch them through, audio only."

"Aye, sir."

" _Serene Coalescence_ , this is Captain Kye of the _Vanguard_ ," a deep voice hailed them. "I'd like to speak with Ambassador Grimaldi."

"This is Grimaldi," the ambassador answered. "Perhaps you'd like to explain why you are approaching an ambassadorial ship with weapons hot, captain?"

"We were informed of a second ship near yours, ambassador," Captain Kye said. "As is our standard operating procedure, we took the necessary precautions. Now that we see what the situation is..." He spoke a muffled command, and Grimaldi looked to Genet, who was keeping an eye on a small console. She nodded.

"Their weapons are down to stand-by mode."

"Ambassador, I've been told you have a very important passenger on board," Kye said. "We have been sent by the regent to ensure the prince's safe arrival on Cassadia Archele. Please relay to the prince that his uncle is anxiously awaiting him at the palace in the capital city."

"I'll be sure to relay the news, captain," Grimaldi said. "For the moment, the prince is settling in, and does not wish to be disturbed."

"Of course, ambassador. Please let us know when we may come aboard. _Vanguard_ out."

"Well, that was polite," Oliver said.

"Don't be fooled, Highness," Grimaldi said. "The only reason that the regent would allow the news of your arrival to spread is if he plans to use you for his own purposes. I had hoped to keep your existence a secret for the time being, but now that it's public knowledge, we've got no choice but to go along with it."

"So what do you think we should do?"

"We'll stall them as long as possible. Captain," Grimaldi turned to Alex, "I'd like the _Coalescence_ to pull the _Nemesis_ in closer, so we can detach the grapple and repair your hull."

"You're expecting trouble?"

"The duke won't give up power easily," Grimaldi said. "He's the one who was behind Logan Carrow hiring you to find the _Pathos Verdes_ ," he said. "He's been doing research, digging through libraries and any historical records he can get his hands on."

"Research on what?" Titus asked, even though he knew the answer already.

  
"I'm not sure," Grimaldi said. "It's all highly classified, but it's important enough that several people who've asked the wrong questions have ended up dead." He looked from Oliver to Titus to Alex and Henry. "We're going to have to be very careful from now on. Please, Your Highness, make sure you aren't alone, even for a moment."

"Don't worry," Titus took Oliver's hand. "He's not going anywhere without me."

"The delegation they're going to send will be ostensibly to officially welcome you to Cassadia Archele, but in reality... Who knows what the regent has planned?"

"We'll be sure to expect the worst, then," Henry said. "Perhaps we should return to the _Nemesis_?"

Grimaldi shook his head. "If the prince is not here when they arrive, that may give them grounds to attack. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you, Captain Porter, that would not end well for your ship and crew."

"Of course," Alex nodded. "We'll stay aboard the _Coalescence_ , then. Can you arrange adjoining quarters for all of us, so we can stay together?"

"We already have," Grimaldi said. "Captain Genet, please assign additional security to our guests." Genet nodded and walked away, issuing orders quietly. "They'll see you to your quarters, and make sure you have everything you need."

"Thank you, Ambassador," Oliver told him, shaking his hand. "If there's anything we can do..."

Titus took Oliver's hand and pulled him after the guards, chuckling at the slightly horrified expression on the ambassador's face.

"What?" Oliver asked, glancing behind him at Grimaldi. "What did I say?"

"You're the _crown prince_ ," Titus told him. "Princes don't make offers like that to their subjects."

"He's not my—" Oliver cut himself off at Titus' significant look. "OK, I guess he is, but still! I don't want him treating me like this. I'm not royalty! I'm just a navigator!"

"And a damned good one, at that," Alex said, coming up to walk beside him. "But for the moment, I think it's probably best that you work on your princeliness. You know, in case you need it."

The guards in front of them came to a stop beside a door, and snapped to attention. Henry moved ahead and went inside first, checking the room, playing up the role of the security guard. After a moment, he motioned them inside.

Once the doors were shut behind them, Oliver flopped onto the very comfortable sofa in the middle of the room. He curled up against the soft cushions, and pulled Titus down to sit beside him. After a bit of rearranging, he ended up with his head on Titus' lap.

"I'm starting to think I didn't think this through clearly," he said.

"You thought it would be different?"

"Well, yeah! The ambassador went on and on about how there's a rebellion on the planet, and how they need a symbol, someone to remind them what they were fighting for. I thought it'd be more... I don't know, removed from the action."

"Maybe that's why the duke decided to make your existence public, to take away the rebels' advantage," Alex suggested. She and Henry were curled up on the smaller sofa, and Henry ran his fingers through her hair.

"You could still leave," Titus suggested. "Make an official statement that you're not the lost prince, that it was all a case of mistaken identity."

"What about the DNA tests?" Oliver turned to lie on his back and look up at Titus.

"Test results can be faked," Titus said. "Maybe you could make some kind of a deal with the duke, renounce whatever connection you have to the throne."

"Something tells me that's not really possible," Alex said, looking out the viewport, where the bulk of the _Vanguard_ loomed over the _Coalescence._ "Duke Alastair doesn't strike me as the kind of man to allow a loose end like you to go free."

"What are you saying, that they're going to try and kill Oliver?" Titus tensed.

"I think that's a possibility we need to prepare for," Alex nodded. "I'm going to call the _Nemesis_ , see how repairs are going. I'd rather not have a hole in my ship to deal with if we need to make a quick exit."

#

"Ambassador, are you sure this is a good idea?" Oliver fidgeted with his jacket, trying to calm his breathing.

"No, Your Highness. In fact, I'm fairly certain this is a bad idea."

With Grimaldi standing beside him, Oliver wondered which one of them was more tense. "Maybe we could—" He didn't get to finish. The door chimed and slid open to reveal a group of uniformed men and women. At the head was a grizzled man with the air of a combat veteran—Captain Kye, Oliver assumed. He strode forward, his face expressionless, until he was standing in front of Oliver, saluting him. Oliver could see the frown creasing the man's forehead.

"Captain Benjamin Kye of the Royal Navy flagship _Vanguard_ ," he introduced himself. "Forgive me for not observing the proper protocols, sir, but I have to verify your identity first."

"Of course," Oliver nodded. "How would you like to do this?"

"We'd like to draw some blood," Kye said. He turned to the medic standing beside him, and the young woman stepped forward, lifting the black case she carried. When she approached Oliver, Titus stepped in front of him, shaking his head.

"Uh-uh," he said. "You're not going anywhere near him with that."

The medic took a step back, looking to Kye in confusion. The captain nodded, and she turned back to Titus, holding the case out to him and opening it.

"If you prefer, you may draw the blood yourself."

Titus looked at the blood sampling kit laid out in the case, frowning. "We would prefer to use our own equipment." He looked from the medic to Captain Kye. "You understand, we have to be cautious."

"And you understand, we cannot allow you to use your own equipment," Kye shook his head. "My orders are very specific."

"Perhaps there is a way we can get around our mutual distrust," Oliver said. He turned to the medic, and reached for the case. "May I?" She nodded, and Oliver took out the scanner and laid it on the table in front of him. He reached into his pocket and drew out his pocket knife. Holding it up, he turned to Captain Kye. "Is this satisfactory?"

Kye stared at the knife for a moment then nodded. He watched in silence as Oliver pricked a fingertip and squeezed it until a drop of blood welled up. Turning his hand, he let the drop of blood fall into the scanner, which lit up immediately.

"How long will this take?" Titus asked, handing Oliver a handkerchief.

"Not long," Captain Kye said. "We have the Crown Prince's family's genetic profiles, and once we compare Mister Hall's to them, we'll have our answer."

"And if the test confirms his identity?"

"Then we've been ordered to take him down to the planet, to meet his uncle. Duke Alastair is most anxious to meet his long lost nephew, should he turn out to be—" Kye broke off as the scanner chirped, signaling it was done. He picked it up, and cleared his throat before looking down at the screen.

"Well?" Titus' voice cracked on the word.

"It appears that Cassadia Archele has its Crown Prince back," Kye said, putting the scanner down on the table. He snapped to attention and saluted Oliver. "Forgive the precautions, Your Highness, and welcome home."

Oliver waved his hand in Kye's direction. "Please, don't do that," he said. "It's going to be bad enough down on the planet, I'd like to keep even a shred of normalcy in my life for as long as possible."

"I'm afraid that's not going to last long, Highness," Ambassador Grimaldi said. "On the Duke's orders, we've been broadcasting the footage of this test to both ships and to the planet," he pointed to the glowing red lights of cameras mounted around the room. "I'm afraid as soon as you step out of this room, you'll be besieged by your future subjects, wanting to meet their Crown Prince."

"Why wasn't I told about this?" Titus hissed at Grimaldi. "You've created a security situation that's going to be a nightmare to manage."

"Nobody would dare lift a hand against the Crown Prince," Captain Kye said, offended. "We've all waited far too long to see him returned to us."

"That's not exactly a compelling reason if you're a fanatic," Titus glared at him. "Oliver, we need to get you out of here," he said, taking Oliver's hand. "Come on, we're going back to the _Nemesis_. At least we know everyone there, so a strange face would stand out." He turned to Grimaldi. "Where is the security detail you assigned us?"

"Waiting outside," the ambassador said. "I'll bring them in."

"Alex, Henry, the three of us will be immediately around Oliver, and the rest of the security—" Oliver's hand on his arm stopped him.

"Calm down, Titus," Oliver told him, turning to face him and leaning forward until their foreheads touched. "It's going to be fine, you'll see."

They walked out of the room, Titus so tense he was practically vibrating as he walked beside Oliver. Ambassador Grimaldi walked on the other side of Oliver, with Henry and Alex behind him. As they walked through the corridors, the crew of the _Serene Coalescence_ paused where they stood, saluting Oliver as he walked past them.

"This is going to get old really fast," Oliver muttered to Titus, squeezing his hand. A young crewman pushed his way through the crowd and approached them, blocking their path. He snapped to attention and saluted Oliver, who smiled and held out his hand for a handshake. The crewman frowned at the outstretched hand, then reached for it.

"No!" Ambassador Grimaldi slapped the hand aside, moving to step between Oliver and the crewman. "Don't touch his skin, it's poisoned. Security!"

Before Titus or Oliver could do anything, a shot rang out, hitting the young man in the chest. As he fell, he reached out and grabbed at Grimaldi. The ambassador cried out, stumbling back. Security swarmed in, surrounding the would-be assassin's body, and Grimaldi fell to his knees, his hand held out in front of him. Oliver pushed Titus out of the way and knelt beside Grimaldi.

"Ambassador, are you all right?"

"I'm afraid not, Highness," Grimaldi said, gasping for breath. "I wasn't fast enough stepping back from him, and his hand brushed mine. The poison is fast-acting, I'll be dead in minutes."

"How did you know he was carrying poison?"

"I've seen many assassinations carried out before I became an ambassador. There are certain things you learn to look for."

"You'll have to teach me," Oliver told him. "We'll get you some help, you'll recover in no time."

Grimaldi moaned, doubling over. When Oliver reached for him, he shook his head. "No! Stay away! The poison is transferred through the skin. Once someone is poisoned, they become a poisoner themselves. It's an efficient way to take out as many people as possible. You'd have killed your crew if you'd so much as touched them." He coughed, and when he lifted his head, there was blood on his lips. "Captain Porter," he looked up at Alex. "Once they realize the assassination attempt failed, they won't hesitate to fire on this ship if they have to. Get out of here, get the prince to safety. Your ship should have been detached from mine by now." He slumped over again, and this time, he didn't get back up again.

"Come on," Titus' hand on Oliver's shoulder squeezed tightly. "We need to go, now."

Oliver let himself be pulled up to his feet, glancing back over his shoulder at Grimaldi's body, slumped over in the corridor, surrounded by security guards. Henry and Alex pushed through the panicked crew, and Titus did his best to shield as much of Oliver's body as he could. They ran through the ship, heading for the airlock where the umbilical to the _Nemesis_ was attached. Oliver could hear Alex yelling into her comms, telling Teri to get the ship ready to go. Someone called after them as they ran, but Titus pulled Oliver along, giving him no chance to respond.

They barreled through the umbilical, Titus and Oliver going first, Alex and Henry bringing up the rear. Once Alex had the airlock sealed, she slumped against the hatch, taking deep breaths.

"All right. That did not go as well as it could have. Oliver, I know you've been through a lot, but I need you on the bridge. We need to get out of here." She turned to Henry. "Get Cal and Emily strapped in securely, this ride might be a bit bumpy." Henry nodded and headed for the crew quarters, and Alex started up the stairs toward the bridge.

"Are you all right?" Titus asked Oliver.

"I'm... I'm not sure," Oliver shook his head. "Come on, the ship needs its getaway driver." He took Titus' hand and led him up the stairs, following Alex.

Once they were back on the bridge, Oliver headed straight for his console.

"Teri, what's the damage to the hull look like?" Alex asked.

"They've patched up the holes, and the exterior is repaired," Teri said. "I'd still like to take her into space dock and check things out myself, but seeing as we're a little pressed for time, I'd say we're good to go. And it's not like we have a choice," she added.

"No, we don't," Alex said. "Can you jump us out of here, Oliver?"

"I'm not sure," he said. "I can't tell if we're not too close to the planet."

"Try to get us as far away as you can on normal engines, and then make the jump."

"The _Coalescence_ is hailing us," Titus said. "Captain Genet wants to know if Oliver's safe."

"Ignore it," Alex said. "Someone on that ship tried to kill Oliver, and we can't be sure he was the only one. The less they know the better. Oliver, how are we doing?"

"We're moving away from the planet and the ships, but—" Oliver's words were cut off as the _Nemesis_ shook.

"What's going on?" Alex asked Titus.

"They're shooting at us," he said through gritted teeth. "The _Vanguard_ , that is." He stared at the screen in front of him, his mouth falling open in shock. "Uh, they're also shooting at the _Coalescence_. What the hell? Why would they do that?"

"Probably because they know that its crew was, for the most part, loyal to Grimaldi," Henry said. "If they're alive, they can tell others what really happened, and the regent won't be able to spin the situation to his advantage."

Oliver stared straight ahead, forcing himself to remain calm. He couldn't stop thinking about all the people on board the ambassadorial ship, innocent crew who were about to die because of him.

"Oliver, stop it," Alex told him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "This isn't your fault."

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

"It's not hard to guess," Alex said. "You didn't start this, and you didn't cause their deaths. That was Duke Alastair, if you're looking for someone to blame."

"I know," Oliver said, nodding. "I just..." A light flashed on his console and he cleared his throat. "We've got enough distance from the planet's gravity well," he said. "I can take us into hyperspace now."

"Any time you're ready," Alex said, settling in her chair. "All right, everyone," she said over open comms. "We're going into hyperspace, get ready."

Oliver laid his hands flat on his console and closed his eyes. Jumping the ship into hyperspace wasn't a process he could consciously describe. It was a matter of _willing_ the ship into hyperspace, and then back out again. He had no idea how it worked, or why, just that it did. He felt the ship leave normal space and when he opened his eyes, he saw the multicolored swirl of hyperspace on the main screen.

"Well, I guess they're going to know we've got ungated jump capabilities now," he said.

The ship lurched then and Oliver cried out, grabbing at his head as he slid from his seat. Everything went black for a while, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Titus and Alex looking down at him, worry creasing their faces.

"Oliver!" Titus pulled him into his lap, fingers tightening on Oliver's shoulder.

"Are you all right?" Alex asked.

Oliver nodded, wincing as the motion set off another flare of pain behind his eyes, and sat up, ignoring Titus' protests.

"I'm fine, just a little headache," he said. There was a strange taste on his lips, and he wiped them with the back of his hand. "And a nosebleed, I guess. But I'm _fine_ ," he insisted. "What happened?"

"We're back in normal space," Teri said. "I'm trying to get a reading on our position, but we've also got other problems. Looks like rushing the repair job didn't help; we've got a leak. A big one."

"Oliver, I want you to head down to sickbay, get Dirk to look you over," Alex told him. "I know you said you're fine," she added when he started to protest, "but you're also white as a sheet and I'd like to make sure you're not going to drop when we need you."

Titus helped Oliver to his feet and walked him to the door. "Stay here," Oliver told him. "I'll be fine, and if something goes wrong, Alex will need you on the bridge." Titus didn't look thrilled with the prospect of staying behind, but he nodded, and went back to his station. Oliver waved to him and headed for sickbay.

#

While Teri and Ash and busied themselves with fixing the atmosphere leak on the ship, Titus resumed Teri's efforts to get a reading on their position. With Henry's help, he managed to triangulate a rough location, and while the computer crunched the data, he scanned the information channels for any mention of the incident at Cassadia Archele.

"Whoa," he said, sitting up in his chair.

"What is it?" Alex asked.

"It seems Duke Alastair's public relations team is working overtime," Titus said. "Listen to this: 'After a failed attempt on the life of Crown Prince Oliver, the long lost heir to Cassadia Archele's throne, the terrorists styling themselves as a resistance destroyed an ambassadorial ship and kidnapped the prince, assisted by their villainous pirate cohorts. The regent, Duke Alastair, has ordered an immediate mobilization of the planet's military in preparation for mounting a rescue operation.'" Titus put the news feeds up on the main screen, bringing a speech by Duke Alastair to the front.

"We have waited a long time to find my nephew," the duke was saying, his voice trembling artfully. "To have him taken from us on the eve of his triumphant return to Cassadia Archele, that is an affront our people will not stand. We will crack down on the terrorists, we will root out their hiding places, and we will return the prince to his rightful place and avenge the lives of Ambassador Grimaldi and the crew of the _Serene Coalescence_ , who died bravely defending the prince, no matter what we have to do." The duke punctuated the last sentence with stern thumps of his fist on the desk.

Alex swiped her hand over the console, muting the rest of the news feed.

"Yeah, right," she said. "And in the meantime, he's going to crack down and oppress his people some more, all in the name of getting his beloved nephew back."

"The only way Cassadia will be restored to order is if I step up and take it back," Oliver said from the door where he'd been standing, watching the feed. "Except I've got nothing to my name to mount an effort like that with."

"You've got us," Alex told him. "I know it's not a lot, but it's a start. We can help you organize something."

"All our faces are all over the wanted bulletins they've put out," Henry changed the display on the main screen, putting the wanted notices up front. "I doubt we can even go back to Eurydice right now." He sauntered over to Oliver, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Like it or not, Highness, you're stuck with us," he leaned in and kissed Oliver's cheek.

Titus' console chirped, and he turned back to look at the results of the search for a location the computer had been running. What he saw made his blood run cold.

"Um, we should get out of this system," he said, turning to Alex. "Like, right now."

"What's going on? Did you finally figure out where we are?"

Titus nodded. "Medusa sector," he said. "Pirate territory. They find us, we're toast. Oliver, you need to get us out of here, right now."

"That's not gonna happen," Henry said. "We've got company," he put up the exterior view on the main screen.

Titus swore when he saw the ship approaching the _Nemesis_. It was a massive thing, shaped like no other ship in the known systems, and it was right on top of them. Titus eyed its approach with dread.

"Is that—?" Alex stared at it, slack-jawed.

"It's the _Kraken_ ," Titus confirmed, resigned.

"I didn't think it existed," Oliver added, his voice breathy and quiet.

"Believe me, it's very real," Titus said.

"How do you know?" Alex asked, turning toward him, but she didn't get any further. The main screen went to static, and a screeching noise filled all the comms channels. The noise cut off after a moment, and when they recovered from the assault, the main screen showed them a man, sprawled in what was unmistakably a captain's chair.

"Now that I have your attention," he said, "who are you and what are you doing in my system?"

"Shit," Titus grumbled, rubbing at his temples.

"I'm Captain Alexandra Porter of the _Nemesis_ ," Alex stood up. "To whom am I speaking?"

"Why don't you ask your security officer," the captain of the _Kraken_ said. "I'm sure he'll be able to fill you in." Smirking, he leaned back in his chair, waiting for Alex's move. When she hesitated, he waved her toward Titus' station. "Go on, ask him."

"Titus? What's he talking about? Do you know him?" Alex stayed where she was while she spoke, and Titus winced at the steely tone in her voice.

"His name is Francis Casey," Titus said. "He's the captain of the _Kraken_."

"Casey?" Henry asked. "As in—?"

"Yeah," Titus said, hanging his head.

"Wait a second," Alex shook her head. "You're telling me that the pirate king is your _father_?"

Titus nodded.

"Were you planning on ever telling us?"

"No," Titus shook his head. "I hadn't planned on it. Didn't want you thinking I was trying to trade in on the family name."

"This is all well and good," Francis said, sitting up in his chair, "but you still haven't answered my question, Captain Porter. What are you doing in my system?"

"We've got a leak in our hull," Alex said. "We need to repair it, and then we'll be on our way."

"Not so fast, Captain Porter," Francis said. "My son hasn't been home for quite a while," he sent a glare Titus' way. "Perhaps you could follow us back to Medusa Station, so he'll get a chance to visit his family? I'm sure his father will be glad to see him as well when he get back."

"Uh..." Alex blinked several times before she found herself nodding. "Of course. It might be slow going, though, with the atmosphere leak we've got, we can't go very fast."

"We'll bring you on board," Casey told her. He gave a command to someone on his bridge, and Titus' console chirped a proximity alarm. The _Nemesis_ shuddered a tiny bit as the _Kraken_ 's forcefield enveloped it. "There," he said, smiling. "Safe and sound, snug as a bug, et cetera." He went back to sprawling in his chair. "Oh, and captain Porter? I'd like you and your crew to join me for dinner tonight."

#

Oliver felt Titus twitch beside him again while Titus' father carried on a conversation with Alex. The man was absolutely charming, making her laugh and blush. When Titus' father refilled Alex's wineglass for the third time, Oliver reached over to touch Titus' hand, which was clenched around his spoon.

"I don't think that's the way to go around bending spoons," he said, his voice pitched for Titus' ears alone. "What's got you so tense?"

"The last time I saw him this charming was during dinner with the admiral of the Mariana Fleet, right before he had the admiral thrown out of the airlock," Titus told him, not taking his eyes off his father.

"I don't think he's going to do that," Oliver said. "He seems to be enjoying himself."

"That doesn't mean anything," Titus snapped. "He's a pirate. He enjoys himself while killing people, too."

"Will you stop that, Titus?" Francis Casey called out, his voice rumbling in Titus' ears, and Titus dropped his spoon on the table. "You're perfectly safe, I assure you. I'm hardly about to kill any such charming dinner guests," he winked at Alex.

"That's what you said about Dare, and Abrey, and—"

"That was different," Casey said. "They were trying to use you against me."

"They were my _friends_ ," Titus shot back.

"None of this would happen if you'd let me give you a ship. You should be captain by now."

"How many times do I have to tell you, I don't want a ship! I'm happy doing what I'm doing!" Titus slammed his hand down on the table, making the plates and wine glasses jump. "Stop trying to run my life!"

"Ah, there's nothing like a family dinner to liven things up around here," a new voice called out from the door. When Oliver turned to look at the new arrival, he saw a tall man, his blonde hair mussed so that it stuck up every which way. He strode over to Captain Casey and bent down to kiss him briefly. When he straightened up, he glanced over at Titus, raising an eyebrow as he perched on the arm of Francis' chair. "What, you're not going to say hello to your father, Titus?"

"Hello, dad," Titus said, ducking his head.

"That's it? That's all I get? 'Hello, dad'? And what the hell have you been doing, son, getting your face plastered all over the wanted lists? Your father and I taught you better than that?"

Titus drew a deep breath and Oliver squeezed his hand, shaking his head slightly. Titus closed his eyes and let out the air in his lungs. When he opened his eyes again, he straightened up and looked toward the two men at the head of the table.

"Hi, dad," he said to the blond man. "Let me introduce everyone to you. This is Alex Porter, captain of the _Nemesis._ That's Henry Priest, Callis Tor, Dirk Pearson, Ash Foster, and Teri McInnis. The lovely young lady beside Henry is Emily. And this is my—" he looked at Oliver, at a loss for words. "Oliver," he finished. "Everyone, this is Joseph Marshall Cole, my father."

"Your Oliver?" Joseph raised his eyebrow. "What exactly does that mean?"

Titus looked like he was about to start pounding his head into the table, and Oliver wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Maybe we should stop, Joseph," Francis Casey grinned at Titus. "He looks like he's just about ready to scream."

"You're right," Joseph said. "Welcome to Medusa Station, everyone. It's lovely to meet you." He looked down at Francis. "I'm sorry to leave you so soon, but we have some things that need attending to. It seems you're stirred up quite a storm," he said to Alex. "Your departure from Cassadia Archele didn't go over well."

"We've seen the wanted lists," Alex said.

"It's not just that," Joseph shook his head. "It's all over the comms channels, Cassadia's one official announcement away from declaring war."

"On whom?"

"On us, captain," Joseph said. "In the two days since your departure, they're ventured farther from their system than they ever have before, and they've attacked several of our ships," he handed Francis a flexi.

Oliver watched Alex pale as she set down her wine glass and got to her feet.

"My apologies, Captain Casey. I hadn't meant to bring all this trouble with us. Perhaps it's best if we were on our way. We can hole up somewhere until we finish repairs."

"Sit down, Captain Porter," Francis Casey told her, his voice laced with steel. "You may not be one of us officially, but you _are_ a pirate, just like the rest of us. And the Cassadian fleet has attacked us directly. The _Chimera_ and the _Orion_ were good ships, and their destruction is an act of war. I don't care who started this fight, and why, but I'm damn well going to be the one to finish it."

"What are you going to do?" Titus asked.

"I'm going to defend what's mine, of course," Francis said. "Surely you don't think I'm going to just sit by and watch as they attack and kill my people?"

"As long as we're here, they're not going to give up," Alex said. "Oliver is Cassadian royalty, whether officially welcomed back or not. They've confirmed that he's alive, and they're claiming that we've kidnapped him. If we stay here, they're going to accuse you of holding him."

"I think I have an idea how to handle that," Francis said. "But I'm not sure now's the right time to even bring it up. If you'll all excuse us, Joseph and I have some things to attend to." He got up from his chair, and everyone got to their feet as well. "We'll have a repair crew attend to your ship, Captain Porter. And guest quarters are already set up for you. Titus will show you the way."

"Thank you, sir," Alex told him.

"Don't thank me yet, Captain," Francis told her, flashing her a grin. "You don't know what I'll ask for in return."

Before Alex could answer, Francis and Joseph were gone.

"Well, that was... interesting," Dirk said, sitting down and reaching for the wine bottle in front of him. "Nobody minds if I finish this, do they?"

#

Two weeks later, the repairs to the _Nemesis_ were almost finished. Despite Alex's protests, Francis had insisted on refitting the whole ship, repairing every little thing that was wrong with it. Alex had come to Titus to get him to intervene, but he'd just shaken his head.

"Where else are you going to get a complete refit done this well, and this cheap?"

"I don't need your father's charity," Alex had scowled.

"It's not charity," Titus had told her. "He's just trying to be nice."

"Nice?" Alex had boggled. "Practically rebuilding my ship from the ground up is being nice? Remind me to never get on his bad side."

Alex had given up resisting after that, and gone along with the repairs. She and Henry, along with Cal and Emily, settled into their rooms on the station and into a relaxed life. Dirk and Ash and Teri did the same, gleefully throwing themselves into the pirates' archives of old episodes of _Beyond Hyboria_ , becoming unreachable for days at a time, emerging from their quarters only to get more food and more episodes.

Titus waved to Oliver as he made his way down Medusa's main promenade. He was almost to the stairs to the upper level when two squirming masses of arms and legs wrapped themselves around him, bowling him over. As they went down and Titus tried to untangle them, he caught sight of Oliver, watching him curiously, but before he could do anything, two arms wrapped around his neck tightly enough to make it hard to breathe.

"Titus! Where have you been? You were gone so long!" Ryan squeezed and Titus gasped for breath. He managed to peel one of Ryan's arms off, only to have Bobert crawl into his lap and glare at him accusingly.

"You promised you'd come back soon! We waited!"

Under the twin force of their puppy dog expressions, Titus got up off the floor and knelt in front of them, pulling them into a hug.

"I'm really sorry, guys," he said, patting their heads a bit awkwardly. "I'll try to do better from now on?"

"You're not leaving again, are you?" Ryan pulled back from him, his eyes wide. Titus pulled him back into the hug before the boy started crying.

"I don't know," he told them. "There's some stuff going on that I might need to go and take care of."

"You should stay here and let others take care of it," Bobert told him, nodding decisively. "The king said you'd stay with us when you came back."

"We'll see, OK?" Titus looked up to see Oliver coming down the stairs. "Hey, I want you guys to meet someone." He pulled back from the hug and wrapped his arms around the boys' shoulders. "Ryan, Bobert, this is Oliver. Oliver, these are Ryan and Bobert." Oliver gave the twins a smile, but they only clung to Titus, glaring at Oliver suspiciously. Titus cleared his throat. "Hey, now, be nice," he told them.

Oliver held out a hand to Bobert. "It's very nice to meet you," he said. Bobert started to reach for Oliver's hand, and Ryan pushed him out of the way.

"I'm older! I get to shake hands first!" He grabbed Oliver's hand with both of his and pumped it vigorously.

"You're not older," Bobert scowled, crossing his arms over his chest. "We're _twins_."

"I was born first, so I'm older," Ryan lifted his head and looked down his nose at his brother. "Duh."

"Whatever," Bobert rolled his eyes. He pushed Ryan out of the way and held out his hand to Oliver. "Hi."

"Hi yourself," Oliver shook his hand, grinning.

"Are you Titus' boyfriend?" Bobert asked him, looking between Oliver and Titus.

"I... I guess I am," Oliver chuckled.

"Are you going to marry him?" Ryan asked from the other side, and Oliver and Titus both gaped.

"Where did you get that idea?" Titus asked Ryan.

"We overheard the king and Captain Cole talking about it," Bobert answered for Ryan. "They said that it would be an easy solution to a difficult situation.

"Shut _up_ ," Ryan hissed at him, kicking Bobert's ankle. "We're not supposed to tell!"

"Boys," Titus pulled the twins in front of him. "Oliver and I have to do something important, but we'll see you later, OK? Stay out of trouble," he admonished them.

"Come on," Ryan took Bobert's hand and led him away. "I'll race you to the drydock."

They took off running, and Titus and Oliver stood on the promenade for a while, watching the twins disappear from view.

"Friends of yours?" Oliver asked, grinning.

"They're good kids," Titus said. "I've known them since they came to Medusa, when they were little."

"Their parents live here on the station?"

"Uh, no," Titus shook his head. "Come on, I'll tell you about them as we walk. I need to talk to my father."

Oliver's hand tensed around Titus. "About us getting married?"

Titus nodded. "Yeah. We need to straighten this out before they have the whole thing planned without asking us about it." He kept walking, not noticing that Oliver had fallen behind. When he did notice, he turned around to see Oliver staring out the viewport. "Hey, you OK?"

"Yeah," Oliver nodded, but didn't look at Titus. "Just thinking."

"What about?"

"It's nothing," Oliver shook his head. "Come on," he reached for Titus' hand. "Tell me about the twins."

"Their parents were on a ship that was raided by one of ours," Titus said, almost too quietly for Oliver to hear. "Things, uh, turned really bad, and people died. There were only a few survivors, the twins among them. Most of the survivors left when they could, but the twins had nowhere to go, so they stayed."

"You helped take care of them," Oliver said, and when Titus looked to him, he shrugged. "I saw the way they looked at you. For a minute there, I thought you were going to tell me they were your kids."

"Right," Titus rolled your eyes. "'Cuz I'm totally the kind of guy to leave my kids behind while I go off gallivanting somewhere."

"I don't mean it like that," Oliver said. "Hey, come on, stop for a second." He took Titus' face in his hands, forcing Titus to look at him. "I'd be OK with it if they were yours." He got a strange look on his face, and Titus reached up to touch one of the hands on his face.

"There's that look again," he said. "What's that about?"

"Would you want to marry me?" Oliver asked.

"I..." Titus took a step back, breathing out deeply. "I hadn't thought about it."

"It's OK if you don't," Oliver said, reaching for Titus.

"It's not that," Titus shook his head. "I just really hadn't thought about it. We haven't been together that long, and it's just... My dad, uh, Francis..." He rubbed a hand over his face, taking a deep breath and letting it out again. "He and Joseph, their marriage was arranged as part of an alliance. I think that's what he's going to try and convince us to do."

"And you don't want to—?"

"I don't know!" Titus flailed. "It's all moving kind of fast, you know?" He pushed in close to Oliver, crowding him against a viewport. "I really like you, Oliver. I may even love you, I don't know, I've never loved anyone before. But I'm not going to let my father rope you into marrying me if you don't feel the same way."

"Oliver, I—"

"Titus! Oliver! There you are!" Francis Casey's voice broke the moment between them and Titus stepped back from Oliver.

"Hi, dad," he said. "We were just on our way to see you."

"Excellent," Francis wrapped an arm around Titus' shoulders. "Listen, your father and I have been talking, and we have the perfect solution to all our problems."

"Yeah, we heard," Titus said. "Listen, dad, it's not—"

"We should probably talk about this somewhere in private. There'll have to be a treaty drawn up, and of course the wedding to plan, although given that we're at war, it'll probably be a small affair, just whoever's on Medusa at the time—"

"Dad, are you listening?" Titus shrugged Francis' arm off and turned to face his father. "You can't just rush ahead with this idea like that. You haven't asked us if we want to get married!"

Francis stared at him, blinking uncomprehendingly. "Why wouldn't you want to get married? You're obviously in love. Come on, I can see how you look at each other. You'll end up getting married sooner or later, why not solve a problem at the same time?"

"Because—"

"I don't know about Titus," Oliver interrupted, stepping forward, his head held high, "and I wouldn't want what I'm about to say to influence his decision, but I'd be honored to marry him. If he'll have me, of course."

"Well, there you go," Francis turned to Titus, who was staring wide-eyed at Oliver. "Guess the ball's in your court now, son."

Titus grabbed Oliver's arm, turning him around, and pulled him into a kiss. Oliver took a few seconds to get his bearings, but then took control, wrapping his arms around Titus and dipping him as they kissed. When they finally broke apart and Titus stood up straight, a small crowd had gathered around them. As Titus and Oliver caught their breath, Francis raised his arms and the crowd quieted down.

"Looks like we're having a wedding!"

Their audience erupted into cheers, and Titus and Oliver clung to each other as everyone crowded in around them to congratulate them.

#

"I guess this means you'll be leaving the ship for sure now," Alex said, looking from Titus to Oliver. After a moment, a huge smile broke out on her face. "Congratulations, you two. It's about time."

"Seriously?" Titus boggled. "Why does everyone say that? It hasn't been that long since we met!"

"Oh please, it was obvious from the moment you two met," Alex rolled her eyes. "Nevermind that, when's the wedding?"

"There's no rush, is there?" Oliver asked. "We just got engaged last night."

"Well, I'm sure once the announcement is made at the big engagement dinner tonight, it won't be long."

"Once the announcement is made, the news will spread beyond Medusa station. What do you think your uncle will say when he finds out?"

"I'm trying not to think about it, Oliver said. He saw Teri, Dirk, and Ash come into the lounge, accompanied by a couple of people Oliver didn't know, and he waved them over.

"Hey guys, I hear congratulations are in order," Teri grinned at Oliver and Titus. "We'd just about given up on you two making honest men out of each other."

As Titus banged his head on the table in front of them, Alex looked to the strangers who'd come over with Teri and her men. "You going to introduce us to your new friends or what?"

"Oh! Yeah, sorry. This is Fiona Peterson, captain of the _Valkyrie_ , and this is Linus."

Captain Peterson shook hands with Alex, and her companion gave everyone a small nod, remaining mostly expressionless.

"So you're the ones we've got to thank for the Cassadian fleet harassing us," Captain Peterson said. "I don't know what you did, but you sure pissed them off."

"I'm afraid that's mostly my fault," Oliver spoke up before Alex or anyone could reply. "Some people on the planet tried to kill me, and they didn't take kindly to my continued existence."

"You must be the crown prince," the captain said, eyeing him closely. "You were lucky to get away safely."

"I know," Oliver nodded. "It helped to have the _Nemesis_ and her crew there with me."

"You guys are my new favorite people," Dirk announced, draping an arm over Captain Peterson's shoulders. "Do you know what they brought with them? New episodes of _Beyond Hyboria_! We've watched all the recordings here on the station, and we were starting to go into withdrawal. That last cliffhanger was a killer. We finally get to find out who killed Zod!"

"I still say that wasn't Zod," Ash said, coming to stand beside Dirk. "Maybe it was an evil twin?"

Oliver tuned out the animated discussion of the soap opera shenanigans. Three more men came into the lounge, heading for their table when they spotted Captain Peterson and Linus. Two of them were about the same age as the captain and her companion, but the third man was older, looking like he'd be closer in age to Titus' father. He looked familiar for some reason, and Oliver stared at him, unable to take his eyes off him. It took Titus squeezing his hand to make Oliver look away. Titus leaned in close, still holding onto his hand.

"Are you all right? You spaced out for a minute there."

"Yeah," Oliver nodded. "I'm fine. It's just... You see that man that came in with Captain Peterson's crew, the older one?"

Titus looked up to the man and then back down to Oliver. "Yeah, so?"

"Does he look familiar to you? I feel like I've seen him somewhere before, I just can't figure out where."

Titus looked back to the man, cocking his head. "Hunh. Now that you mention it..."

"Don't stare," Oliver reminded him. "He's probably just got one of those faces."

"Yeah," Titus said, shaking his head and turning back to Oliver. "What do you say we get out of here for a while? The big dinner's not till tonight, we've got some free time, and I can think of a better way to spend it than listening to Dirk and Ash talking about _Beyond Hyboria_."

"I don't know, I kind of wanted to find out what happened to Captain Sexypants and whether he and Lady Alamain ever managed to defeat her evil twin and his clone and overcome the obstacles standing in the way of their love," Oliver told him, barely able to finish before he burst out laughing. "All right, come on, let's go," he held out his hand to Titus.

"You're leaving?" Alex asked, looking up from her discussion with Captain Peterson.

"Yeah," he nodded. "We've got that big dinner tonight, so we're going to try for a little quiet time before then."

"OK," Alex said. "Have fun, you two," she gave him a wink.

Oliver blushed and tugged at Titus' hand to get him moving.

"Sorry," Titus said, catching up to him. "It's just that guy looks _really_ familiar. It's going to bug me now until I figure it out."

"I can think of a few things that'll take your mind off it," Oliver leaned into close to whisper in Titus' ear. As he felt Titus twitch beside him, he grinned.

The rest of the walk back to their quarters went rather quickly, and the moment the doors were closed behind them, Oliver walked Titus over to the bed and pushed him down onto the mattress.

"Now, what were you saying about having something on your mind?"

"I don't recall anything like that," Titus grinned up at him. "You're the only one on my mind right now."

"Good," Oliver said, crawling onto the bed after Titus. "That's what I want to hear." He leaned in for a kiss, and started to unbutton Titus' shirt at the same time. As his kisses drifted lower, and his hands reached Titus' belt, he felt a hand tangle in his hair.

"You're really going to hate me," Titus told him when Oliver looked up. Oliver had to bite his lip to make himself focus on what Titus was saying, rather than the way he looked—tousled, aroused, and thoroughly debauched.

"What is it?"

"Look over there," Titus pointed to the floor where their bags had stood for the last two weeks. Their clothes lay scattered all over the place, since neither of them had wanted to admit that their stay on the station was anything but temporary.

"It's our bags," Oliver said, turning back to Titus. "What about them?" He lay down beside Titus, running his fingers over Titus' chest and sliding them under the waistband of his pants.

"It's not the bags," Titus said, his voice shaking on the last word. "Come on, this is important."

"And this isn't?" Oliver wiggled his fingers, making Titus grab at his hand.

"I think I figured out who that man was," Titus gasped, pulling Oliver's hand out of his pants. He scrambled off the bed, going for the bags. He rooted around in Oliver's bag, then tossed the flexi onto the bed.

Oliver picked up the flexi and stared at it, his fingers gripping the edge hard enough that he cracked the already old and damaged picture. His parents stared up at him from the flexi, his father a younger version of the man they'd seen in the lounge.

"Looks just like him, doesn't it?" Titus asked quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Oliver nodded, putting the flexi down, and lying back on the bed. "Do you think it's possible that my father is alive after all these years?"

"With everything that's happened recently, I've learned not to discount anything."

"What do I do now?"

"You go talk to the man, of course. But you have to remember," Titus moved closer to Oliver and took his hand, tugging on it to make Oliver look up. "Don't get your hopes up that it's him. It may all just be a big coincidence."

"Augh, don't say that!" Oliver let his head fall back against the pillows. "That's going to be pretty sad, if I go up to him, ask him if he's my father, and he turns out not to be."

"Hey, I've got two, we can share," Titus said. He managed a straight face for about thirty seconds, then burst out laughing. "Come on. Let's get dressed and we'll go find him."

"Are you sure?" Oliver sat up. "We were kind of in the middle of something."

"There'll be plenty of other opportunities," Titus told him. "I'm hoping it won't all stop once we get married."

"Never," Oliver said, wrapping a hand around the back of Titus' head and pulling him down into a kiss. "At least not until after the honeymoon."

Titus spluttered and thwacked Oliver's head, sending the two of them rolling across the bed. When he came up on top of Oliver, he sat up, running his hand through his hair.

"Come on," he said, "let's get going. We should do this before the dinner tonight; otherwise we won't have time to get to it." He leaned in to press a kiss to Oliver's lips. "Let's go find your dad."

#

On a station as big as Medusa, finding a single man wasn't an easy task. Even with Titus' privileges as the son of the pirate king and the access to station information that came with it, it would have taken them a long time to locate the _Valkyrie_ , had they not run into Dirk and Ash, arms slung over each other's shoulders.

"Where are you two lovebirds off to?" Dirk asked, slurring his words just a little.

"I could ask you the same thing," Titus grinned. "You two look like you've had a good time."

"We have!" Ash told them. "And we've got more episodes to watch. Linus loaned us half his library. You should see his collection, man, it's amazing."

"Were you on the _Valkyrie_ with them?"

Ash nodded. "They're in docking bay twenty nine, just down there," he waved down the corridor behind them. "What do you need them for?"

"I have a question to ask Captain Petersen," Oliver said. "Come on, Titus, let's get going."

"We'll see you later," Titus told Dirk. "And stay out of trouble, will you? We'd like you to be there at the dinner tonight."

"Are you kidding?" Ash asked. "We wouldn't miss it for the world. We'll be there, Your Highnesses." He cracked up, swaying forward, and Dirk caught him, pulling him upright.

"Right," Titus said. "We'll see you there." He and Oliver headed for the docking bay where the _Valkyrie_ was docked. When they reached the doors of the bay, Oliver stopped.

"I'm not sure about this. What if we're wrong? What if that man's not my father?"

"Then we thank Captain Peterson for her time and go back to our room to get ready for dinner," Titus said. "Come on, let's go."

"But—"

"No buts," Titus tugged on Oliver's hand and opened the doors with his other hand. "Come on."

The _Valkyrie_ was a little larger than the _Nemesis_ , and it was the only ship in the docking bay, so their presence was noticed almost right away. Captain Peterson came down the ramp to greet them.

"Gentlemen, is this an official visit?"

Titus shook his head. "Nothing of the kind, captain," he said. "We just have a question for one of your crew."

"Oh?" Captain Peterson raised an eyebrow. "Which one, and what have they done now?"

"Oh no, no," Oliver held up his hands in front of him. "It's nothing like that. We just wanted..." He trailed off.

"The man who came into the lounge with some of your crew earlier," Titus picked up the conversation. "The older one."

"Who, Bob?" Captain Peterson asked. "What about him?"

"I..." Oliver started and faltered again. Titus gave him a nudge, and Oliver lifted his chin and stepped forward. "There's a possibility that he's my father." He fumbled in his pocket for the flexi with the portrait, and held it out. "At least he looks like my father."

Captain Peterson took the flexi and examined it. "You're right," she said, handing the portrait back. "Wait here, I'll be right back." She left them standing at the foot of the ramp, and headed into her ship.

When she returned, the man she'd called Bob was with her, wiping his hands on a rag. They stopped at the top of the ramp, and Peterson said something to Bob, then left him alone, staring down at Titus and Oliver.

Oliver reached for Titus' hand as the man came down the ramp.

"Captain said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Uh..." Oliver stared at the man, speechless. Titus squeezed his hand, but it did no good.

"My name's Titus Casey, and this is Oliver Hall," he told the man, who flinched, almost imperceptibly, at the sound of Oliver's name. "We have a question for you."

"Ask away," the man said, spreading his hands wide. "I'll do my best to answer."

Titus paused, trying to give Oliver a chance to talk, but he was still silent. Titus sighed and reached into Oliver's pocket to take out the portrait. Silently, he handed it to the man.

Bob stared at the flexi, his fingers gripping the edge so tightly they started to go white. "Where did you get this?" His voice shook. "Is this some kind of joke?" Bob thrust the flexi back at Oliver, stumbling away from him.

"No!" Oliver said, reaching for Bob, then pulling his hand back. "Look, we just want to know, is that you in the picture?"

"Who else would it be?" Titus asked. "Look at him, he looks like he's seen a ghost." He turned to Bob. "If that's you in the picture, then that means you're Oliver's father," he said, nudging Oliver closer.

"We have the blood tests that prove I'm the princess' son," Oliver lifted the portrait. "Wouldn't be in all this trouble if it wasn't for that."

Bob stared at Oliver without a word for a long moment. Oliver stared back, neither of them moving. Finally, Oliver blinked and looked away. "Look, I'm sorry if I—" He didn't get to finish as Bob moved in and pulled him into a tight embrace. Oliver let himself be held for a moment, then returned the hug, and the two men clung to each other. Finally, Bob pulled back, and wiped at the tears on his face.

"I don't need any tests," he said. "I can tell you're my boy." He hugged Oliver again. "What about your mother? What about Viviane?"

Oliver shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "I only found out about all of this recently, I had no idea there was this big... _thing_ there in my life." He ran his hand through his hair. "I'd have asked Ambassador Grimaldi more about it, but he didn't live through the attack on the _Coalescence_."

"We heard about what happened at Cassadia," Bob said. "I take it that was the duke?"

Oliver nodded. "He's spinning everything to make himself look good. Terrorists killed the ambassador, pirates kidnapped me, and he's cracking down on anyone against him."

"Sounds like Alastair all right," Bob said. "When you were born, his men were already on our trail. We had to give you up, to make sure you'd be safe. The people we left you with..." He paused, looking closely at Oliver. "Were they good to you?"

"They were good parents," Oliver nodded. "They told me early on, that they weren't my real parents, but they never mentioned who my real parents were."

"They didn't know," Bob said. "A friend of mine handled the details, Viviane and I never met them in person."

"You made a good choice," Oliver told him. He looked around the docking bay, noting the crew of the _Valkyrie_ observing them closely. "Look, can we go somewhere a little more private to talk?"

"You'll have to run that by Captain Peterson," Bob said, his body stiffening.

"I'm sure she'll be willing to spare one of her crew for a while, especially given the circumstances," Titus said.

"That's the thing," Bob said, taking a step back from Oliver. "I'm not exactly one of the crew."

"What do you mean?"

"He means that I bought him at a slave market six years ago," Linus came down the ramp toward them.

"What?!" Oliver whirled on Linus. "That's my father you're talking about!"

"He may very well be, but that doesn't change the facts." Linus stared at them, his face devoid of expression.

Oliver turned to Bob again. "Is this true?" When Bob nodded, Oliver clenched his hands into fists.

Bob stepped closer to Oliver. "After Alastair's men found us, they took Viviane away. I got to spend a couple of days in their company, and after that, they dumped me in a slave market on the edge of the Outer Systems. Out there, it doesn't matter why you're there; you either shut up and do what they tell you, or you die. I did what I had to to survive."

"I found him in a gladiator ring," Linus said. "He was very impressive, and I liked the look of him, so I bought him, brought him on the _Valkyrie_. He's been with us ever since."

"Hey," Bob took hold of Oliver's shoulder. "They haven't treated me badly," he said. "It could have been much worse."

"You should know, my father doesn't look kindly on slavery," Titus said quietly.

" _Pirates_ ," Linus pointed out, his voice flat.

"That's where he draws the line," Titus said. "I'd hate for you to lose the privileges you and the rest of the crew enjoy here at Medusa, all because you weren't willing to compromise."

"I didn't realize we were talking compromise," Linus raised an eyebrow. "I thought you were just threatening to tell your daddy on me."

"Hey, this conversation's not going anywhere good," Bob held up a hand and stepped between Linus and Titus. "Why don't we all take a step back and relax a bit, hunh?"

"I'm not leaving here without my father," Oliver said, glaring at Linus. "What will it take?"

"What's going on here?" Captain Peterson asked, coming down the ramp. Their group was starting to attract attention, the rest of the crew having given up all pretense of not listening in.

"We were just discussing a business proposition," Linus told her, not taking his eyes off Titus. "It seems Bob here is related to the prince's fiancé."

"Oh?" Captain Peterson turned to Titus and Oliver.

"Yeah," Oliver said. "He's my father."

"Well, in that case, I'll let you get back to your discussion," Peterson turned on her heel and started to walk back up the ramp.

"That's it?" Titus spluttered. "You're just going to leave? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Linus is the one who bought him," she said. "He's the one who decides what happens to him."

"He's one of your crew! You're responsible for him!"

"Actually, he's not crew," Peterson said. "He's a passenger, and he pays quite handsomely for the privilege of being able to do whatever he wants."

"All right," Oliver said, running a hand over his face and straightening up. "What will it take? What do you want for him?"

"There's a boy, living here on the station."

"Are you serious?" Titus spluttered. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"I want to _talk_ to him," Linus finished.

"Last I checked, no one was stopping you from talking to people," Titus crossed his arms over his chest.

"He's one of the children under the protection of your father," Linus said. "It might go over better if you arrange the meeting."

"What do you want from him?"

"That's for me to know and you to keep your nose out of," Linus said. While Titus glared at him and spluttered some more, Linus turned to Oliver. "That's the deal. Take it or leave it."

"Fine," Oliver and Titus spoke at the same time.

"Get me the boy's name, and I'll see to it you get your meeting as soon as I can arrange it," Titus said.

"I'm going to give you this on good faith," Linus told Titus. "Go get your things," he said to Bob, then turned on his heel and headed back into the ship.

"I'm going to go and set up some rooms for you," Titus told Bob. "You wait here for your dad," he said to Oliver. "Come find me when you are done here. We'll need to find you some nice clothes for the dinner tonight."

"Thank you," Oliver wrapped his arms around him. "Thank you so much."

"Anything for you," Titus pressed a kiss to Oliver's forehead.

#

Titus and Oliver were seated in a place of honor at the head table, flanked by their fathers. The table stood on a raised platform, overlooking the rest of the room. Oliver had insisted on having Alex and the rest of the crew of the _Nemesis_ at the table with them, claiming them as the closest thing to family he had, other than Bob Hall.

Before the first course was served, Francis stood, and a hush fell over the room. He lifted his glass, looking around the room and then turning to Titus and Oliver.

"My friends, we are gathered here to celebrate my son's engagement." The gathered crowd erupted in cheers. Francis waited for a moment, then motioned for silence. "Joseph and I have waited a long time for this day. To see our son so happy, surrounded by such great friends, and having found his true love, well, it warms the heart of even this old pirate. Here's to you, Titus and Oliver. May your life together be happy and filled with love." More cheers followed, Joseph leading them, a big grin on his face as he toasted his husband. When the cheers quieted, Francis continued.

"I also want to toast the crews of the _Chimera_ and the _Orion_ ," he said, and a hush fell over the room. "We honor their memories, and pledge that their lives will not have been given in vain. As many of you know, we have recently come under attack by the Cassadia Archele fleet. They are claiming that we are holding their crown prince captive, that we are forcing him into marriage against his will. Well, as you can see," he motioned to Oliver, "that could not be further from the truth. I promise you, the deaths of our friends will not go unavenged." He lifted his glass and bowed his head. Everyone in the room rose to their feet, raising their glasses as well. After a moment of silence, Francis drank half his glass in one gulp.

"If I delay the main course any further, Cook will serve nothing but dry bread and water for the next two weeks, so here's one last toast from me," he said. "Whatever cause for your celebration, make it a good one. You never know when you'll get the next chance," he emptied his glass and sat down.

After the meal—full five courses, plus a dessert made of something light and fluffy and delicious enough to send people into bliss-filled food comas—Francis stood once more, and the room quieted.

"There is two more announcements I'd like to make," he said. "As most of you probably know, my son and his fiancé arrived on Medusa station on the _Nemesis_ , captained by the lovely captain Porter," he motioned to Alex. "In recognition of their contribution to this little family reunion, I'd like to offer the good captain a permanent berth here on Medusa." A hushed murmur went through the crowd at Francis' words.

"I take it this is a big deal?" Oliver leaned over to Titus.

"Yeah. He's basically offering to officially adopt the _Nemesis_ into the fold," Titus explained. "Most of the ships here, they don't have an assigned berth, they just dock where there's room. This way, they'll have permanent quarters, and they won't have to constantly worry about having to look over their shoulders for someone wanting to do them harm."

Further down the table, Alex got to her feet. "Thank you, Captain Casey," she said, lifting her glass in salute. "We're grateful for the offer, and we accept." The rest of the crew of the _Nemesis_ lifted their glasses as well.

"Welcome to our family," Francis said. "It may not be very conventional, but we look out for our own. And speaking of additions to the family, we've had a surprise revelation that Mister Hall's father is neither dead nor missing, as previously assumed. Needless to say, he's been reunited with his son, which means the wedding party will be a bit more balanced now." He grinned, nodded to Bob Hall.

Titus glanced at Oliver, who was staring off into the distance. "Hey," he said. "You OK?"

"Yeah," Oliver nodded, giving him a half-smile. "I just wish my mom could be here, too."

"Hey, the wedding's still a ways off, who knows what will happen between now and then?" Titus leaned over to Oliver and pulled him into a kiss. Cheers erupted around them, and he could feel Oliver grinning against his lips.

"There we go," he said, leaning back slightly. "That's what I wanted to see."

"There are other ways of getting me to smile," Oliver said.

"I know, but that seemed to be the surest," Titus grinned. "Besides, it's our engagement party, they're all expecting it."

"How much longer do you think we'll have to stay?" Oliver asked, leaning in for another kiss.

"We're the guests of honor," Titus told him, shivering as Oliver's teeth closed on his lip. "I'm pretty sure we can leave whenever we want."

They made their excuses after that, under the indulgent gazes of their fathers and the assembled guests, and headed for their room, leaving the party in full swing.

#

A few days later, Titus and Oliver were woken by a call from Francis and Joseph, requesting their company for breakfast. It was a private affair, just the four of them, and after they enjoyed coffee and fresh baked croissants, Oliver cleared his throat.

"Captain Casey, I'd like to formally request your assistance with removing Duke Alastair from power on Cassadia Archele," he said, leaving Titus gaping.

"I thought we were going to talk about this?" Titus hissed.

"We can't wait anymore," Oliver said. "The Cassadian fleet's attacks have been getting more brazen. You've seen the reports, you know how bad things are getting. And with the propaganda they're spreading about me being kidnapped and forced into a marriage, they're gaining allies."

"What exactly is it you'd like us to do about it, Oliver?" Francis asked.

"They've as good as declared war on your people," Oliver said. "This would just be a response to the attacks."

"There's a difference between a response to the attacks, and getting involved in the internal politics of a planet," Joseph pointed out.

"Not if you have the rightful heir to the throne with you," Oliver said. "Alastair usurped the throne, and he's tried to kill me to keep it. You'd just be helping me to get back what's rightfully mine."

"All right," Francis nodded. "Suppose I were to agree, what would you do about the Cassadia situation?"

"What would... wait, what are you—?" Titus stared at his father, horrified.

"Come on, Titus, you didn't expect us to make that decision, did you?"

"You're the king!" Titus spluttered. "It's your call!"

"Not entirely," Francis shook his head. "I'm putting you in charge of the fleet. It's about time you had some responsibility."

"No!"

"This isn't a request, son," Francis' voice lost its jovial tone. "You've had your chance to command a ship, and you gave it up. Your father and I indulged you, hoping that you'd come to your senses, but then you got it into your head to try and run away. But you're back now, and you can't shirk your responsibilities any longer."

"Please, don't do this," Titus begged. "You know why I can't do this."

"Titus," Oliver put a hand on his and squeezed gently. "We all have to do things we don't want to. I don't want to do this, either."

"You don't understand," Titus said. "I swore I'd never command a ship again."

"Again?"

"The first time... Do you remember what I told you about the twins' parents dying in an attack?"

Oliver stared at him. "That was you?"

Titus hung his head. "It was a disaster from the beginning, and it was my fault. I mishandled the situation." When Oliver didn't say anything, Titus forced himself to look up and meet Oliver's eyes. "Now you know why I can't take command."

"Yes, you can," Oliver told him. "You're older, and you know better. You'll be fine."

"See?" Joseph clapped Titus on the back. "Your fiancé believes in you, Titus, you should have a little faith in yourself."

"Easy for you to say," Titus grumbled. "You don't know what's at stake here."

"Perhaps you'd better tell us, then," Francis said, his voice brooking no protest. "I'm getting the impression that the two of you are hiding something from us."

Oliver cleared his throat. "What do you know about the people of Cassadia Archele?"

"Not much," Joseph said. "I take it there's more to this than just a throne being usurped?"

Oliver nodded. "Have you ever heard of a ship called the _Pathos Verdes_?"

Joseph laughed. "What's a story about a ghost ship got to do with this?"

"No, it's not," Titus said. "We've seen it. We've been on board."

"They were doing genetic experiments on the ship," Oliver continued. "The early inhabitants of Cassadia Archele were the survivors of those experiments."

"What kind of experiments?"

"Human-controlled hyperspace flight."

"That's not possible," Francis said.

"Uh, we beg to differ," Titus told him. "Oliver here happens to be able to do it."

"How?"

"Giant space squid spliced into the brains of his ancestors."

"Giant..." Francis threw his head back and laughed. "I have to tell you, son, of all the ways you've tried to get out of your responsibilities, this is by far the most amusing one."

Oliver stood up and walked to the far end of the room, where the entire wall was one big window. "Watch," he said, putting a hand on the window and closing his eyes.

It hurt at first, but once he started, it got progressively easier. Once the rift was wide enough, he reached out with his mind, searching for any space squids in the vicinity. He found several, and smiled involuntarily at the clean and bright feeling of their minds touching his.

He pulled away from them for a moment, and turned to the room.

"Captain Casey, please tell your people not to fire, no matter what happens next."

"Why? What's going to happen?"

Oliver turned back to the window, Titus' voice assuring his father fading to a faint murmur. He reached out to the squid again beckoned them toward him, sending assurances that they would be perfectly safe. They swarmed toward him, and he laughed out loud, opening his eyes to see them come out of the rift.

Titus came up to stand beside him, taking his hand. "I'll never get used to that," he said.

"Would someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?" Francis Casey demanded, not taking his eyes off the window, where the squid floated, one of them reaching forward with its tentacles and touching it to the spot where Oliver's hand was.

"We made some friends after we found the _Pathos Verdes_ ," Titus said. "Until then, the giant space squid were practically extinct."

"They have the ability to move in and out of hyperspace at will," Oliver said. "And since I'm descended from the original test subjects, I can do it, too."

"Alastair's been looking for a way to restart the experiments, to give his people the ability to do what Oliver can do. If he succeeds..."

"He'd be able to control hyperspace," Joseph said. "And interstellar space travel with it."

"Now you see what's at stake," Oliver said. "This is why we need your help."

"You have it," Francis said.

There was a crash in the outer room, and the door swung open to reveal Alex, blood flowing from a cut on her forehead, pushing a man in front of her at gunpoint. When the door opened, she pushed him forward, sending him to the floor.

"Sorry to interrupt your meal, gentlemen, but I'm afraid there are spies on the station. We caught this dirtbag on the _Nemesis_ , just as he was sending something to Cassadia Archele." She drew back her heavy-booted foot and delivered a kick to his ribs. "That's what you get for threatening a child."

"What... Is Emily all right?" Oliver gasped.

"She's fine," Alex nodded. "A little shaken up, but she'll be OK. Ryan and Bobert helped keep her safe."

"I didn't know they knew each other," Titus said.

"Neither did I, but apparently they've become friends. Last I saw them, they were running off to go flying," Alex grinned. The grin faded when she looked down at the man at her feet. "Tell me why I shouldn't just put a round through your brain right now."

"You'd ruin the carpeting, for one," Francis told her, closing a hand around her gun hand and pulling her away. "Let us take care of this. We'll question our visitor, find out what he knows."

Alex eyed the man on the floor. "He doesn't look like he knows much."

"Believe me, if there's anything he knows, Joseph will get it out of him."

"I'd like to stay and watch the questioning," Alex said, holstering her blaster.

"No, you don't," Titus told her. "Trust me, you don't want to see this. Come on, let's get out of here and leave Joseph to do his work. Oliver, let's go check on our sparkly space friends, shall we?"

Together, they ushered Alex out of the breakfast room, and when Oliver looked back over his shoulder, the last thing he saw before the doors closed was Joseph, standing over the captured man, rolling up his sleeves.

#

"Three more ships just came in, reporting skirmishes with the Cassadian fleet," Titus said when he reached Oliver and Bob, standing in the corridor. Both of them were leaning against the wall outside a cargo bay, laughing hysterically. "What's wrong?"

Oliver turned to look at Titus. "Whatever you do, don't go in there," he nodded toward the cargo bay doors.

"Why, what—" Titus took a closer look at the control panel beside the door. "Oh! This is where Teri's set up her vanas garden isn't it?"

Oliver nodded. "She's had a really good harvest since the squids arrived," he said, giggling helplessly. "Last night, she mentioned wanting to try out the newest batch."

"Oh," Titus said. "You totally walked in on the testing, didn't you?"

"If you two don't mind, I'm going to go and find something to rinse my brain out with," Bob pushed away from the wall. "We'll talk later?"

"All right," Oliver said. "Later, dad." He sighed and leaned against Titus. "I'm still not used to that, you know," he said.

"What, calling him dad?"

"Yeah. All my life, I've known my parents weren't my birth parents, but I never thought I'd get to meet either of them, you know?"

"You might get to meet both of them yet," Titus said, taking Oliver's hand and pulling him down the corridor with him. "When Joseph questioned the spy Alex found on the _Nemesis_ , he told them the location of Duke Alastair's secret research station. He said there's a prisoner of great value held there, along with some kind of experiments. He was supposed to find and deliver the information we got from the _Pathos Verdes_."

"I guess Carrow didn't buy Alex's story about the memory core being damaged," Oliver said. "What else did he say?"

"That the prisoner was a woman, a member of Alastair's family."

"And you think it's my mother?"

"I think that if there's even the smallest chance, we have to go" Titus said. "And, uh, given the latest news from Cassadia, the sooner we go, the better."

"What's going on?"

"Alastair's solidifying his power, trying to crush the resistance. There's been lots of arrests and executions. It's really bad, and it's getting worse."

Oliver pressed his forehead to the window they stood at, and one of the squids pressed its tentacles to the outside.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this," he said quietly. "I just wanted to travel around with my awesome badass boyfriend. There weren't supposed to be any revelations of my being the crown prince of some planet I'd never heard of, or assassination attempts, or everyone being miserable on my account."

Titus stepped closer to Oliver, laying a hand on his shoulder. "It's going to be all right," he said. "You'll see. We'll go rescue your mom, then we'll come back here, regroup, and then we'll go kick your uncle off Cassadia."

"And then what? I'm not cut out to be a prince," Oliver turned around, leaning against the window, ignoring the squids outside.

"And I am?" Titus stepped back, glaring at Oliver. "There's a reason I haven't been home in three years."

"I guess we both have to stop running from our responsibilities," Oliver said, reaching for Titus' hand. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For calling me out on my moping," Oliver pulled Titus close and kissed his cheek. "So, how do we go about mounting this rescue?"

"Alex has already offered the _Nemesis_ ," Titus said, wrapping an arm around Oliver. They started walking again, and reached the promenade. "Dad's insisting on sending a couple of ships along for safety."

"That's good, isn't it?"

"Potentially, yes, seeing as the _Nemesis_ isn't that well armed. On the other hand," Titus frowned. "I know my fathers trust these captains, but I don't know them, I don't know what kind of people they are."

"You're worried they might not be loyal to your father?"

"Let's just say that if the experiments on the station are what I suspect they are, I'd rather not let anyone else see them."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Oliver said. "Did Alex say when she'll be ready to leave?"

"As soon as we're ready."

"Then let's go pack and head out."

#

As soon as they came out of hyperspace, the two ships Francis had sent with them moving out to flank the _Nemesis_ , they came under fire from the giant station tucked in on the edge of the nebula. Small fighters fanned out from the station, moving to intercept.

" _Phoenix_ , _Seraphim_ , this is the _Nemesis_ ," Alex signaled to their escorts. "We'd sure love it if you could clear the way for us."

"Gotcha, _Nemesis_ ," the captain of the _Seraphim_ answered. "We're moving in, hang back a bit, then make your way to the station."

"Appreciate it," Alex said with a grin, turning to Henry and Bob. "Looks like we can sit back and relax a bit."

"Can they do it?" Bob asked. "That's a lot of ships..." He didn't take his eyes off the viewscreen.

"The _Phoenix_ and the _Seraphim_ are two of the best," Titus reassured them. "They won't let us down—"

"We've got incoming," Alex interrupted him. "Guess they couldn't take them all out."

"There's only two of them," Oliver told Titus. "Easy pickings."

Titus' fingers flew over the controls as he brought the _Nemesis_ ' weapons to bear on the approaching ships and fired.

"Easy pickings indeed," he said, scanning for any more ships. "Looks like that's that."

The comms channel chimed. " _Nemesis_ , this is the _Phoenix_ , feel free to proceed to the station. We'll stay out here and keep an eye out."

"Thanks, _Phoenix_ ," Alex answered them. "Oliver, take us in, nice and careful."

"Aye, captain," Oliver got the ship moving, scanning the area carefully.

"We've got a clear approach," Titus said. "I can't get a reading on the structure, but maybe try the docking bay those fighters came out of?"

"I see it," Oliver said. "We should probably keep the guns up, just in case they've got on-board defenses."

There weren't any, and they arrived in the docking bay without any problems. As Oliver set the ship down, Titus ran a quick scan of the bay.

"There's something in the hull scattering the scans beyond the docking bay," he said, "but I was able to get a read on the interior. There are five men hiding around the room, we should be careful when we go out there."

"Secure the ship, Oliver, and let's get going. I want everyone armed, armored, and wearing a rebreather, just in case" Alex said. "Titus, see to that, will you?" She activated the comms. "Ash, Teri, get to the armory and then meet us in the cargo bay."

Titus got to his feet and headed for the door. "Everyone who doesn't have a weapon follow me," he said.

When they reached the armory, he handed out weapons and light tac-vests. As Oliver adjusted his vest, Bob strapped on his thigh holsters and checked his weapons.

"You make that look so easy, I forgot you were a soldier," Oliver said, checking his own blaster. Bob watched him do it and nodded with approval.

"You're not doing so bad yourself," he said. "Here, let me get that for you," he reached for Oliver's vest, tightening a side strap. "Don't want to leave yourself exposed on the side."

"Thanks," Oliver said.

"Thank _you_ ," Bob told him, clapping a hand on Oliver's shoulder. "I appreciate you doing this."

"How could I not?" Oliver shrugged. "This could be my chance to meet the mother I never knew."

"All the same," Bob said.

"Sorry to interrupt," Titus cleared his throat. "But we should get going."

Everyone armed, they headed out to the cargo bay. Alex and Henry were already there, having what looked like an intense conversation. Oliver slowed down, not wanting to interrupt them. As they got closer, Henry tightened the straps on Alex's vest and held out an old military jacket for her. Fastening her rebreather, Alex opened the bay doors and they headed down the ramp, weapons at the ready, scanning the area as they went.

Shots rang out from somewhere above them, and Oliver dropped to one knee, taking careful aim. He fired, and was rewarded by the thud of a body hitting the floor. Henry and Alex each took out one guard, and Bob brought down the other two, firing both his blasters at once.

Dirk scanned the bay. "It's all clear. I still can't see anything beyond the doors, something's interfering with the scanners. We'll have to go slowly, clear this place room by room."

"Ash, can you tap into the computers? Tell us more about this place?"

"I'll do my best," Ash was already working on his wrist computer. "But it's not going to be easy, this place is zipped up tight."

"Keep trying as we go," Alex told him. "All right, everyone, nice and slow and careful."

#

The corridors and rooms they checked as they went deeper into the station were all empty, devoid of life and covered with thick layers of dust.

"It's like walking through a mausoleum," Bob muttered, checking another room. "Is it possible the spy lied? Sent us here as a distraction?"

Titus shook his head. "Joseph questioned him, and in my experience, people don't lie to Joseph."

"Then why is this place empty? We've been here for almost an hour, we shouldn't have gotten half as far as we have if this place had a crew."

"There were the guards in the docking bay," Titus pointed out. "And the fighters when we got here."

"A skeleton crew could have been left to make it look like this place was operational," Bob said. "And the ships could have been automated. This is a waste of time."

"It's not a waste of time," Ash called out. He'd connected his wrist computer to a terminal in the corridor, and now he punched the air in triumph as the interface was completed. "The research facilities have been scaled down, but the prison is still here, at the heart of the station. Here, look at this map," he put up a large map of the station. "That's us," he pointed to a cluster of green dots in one of the corridors. "And that's the prison," he motioned to a larger cluster of red dots in the center of the structure. "We've got some research labs and living quarters between us and them, but the way should be clear of any hostiles."

"Clear us a path, Ash," Alex told him. "Lock down any doors we won't need, make sure nobody but us can get through."

"Already on it, cap'n," he said, punching in commands on his wrist computer. "There's only one area I can't lock down, and that's the research labs. They're on a separate system, but they're empty, so we should be OK."

"I want to see the labs," Oliver said. "We need to destroy whatever research is going on there."

"I don't think we'll find much there," Titus said. "If they've scaled down operations, they've probably gotten everything they can out of this place."

"I don't care," Oliver shook his head. "I'm not leaving the labs intact," he turned on his heel and headed down the corridor toward the research facilities.

"Oliver's right," Alex said. "We leave nothing behind."

They reached the labs without incident, and stopped in their tracks when they entered the main room.

"What the actual fuck?" Dirk breathed as he stared at the wall of specimen jars.

"They kinda look like the ones we saw on the _Pathos Verdes_ ," Titus said, moving the beam of the flashlight over the shelves. "Except they all look..."

"Old," Dirk finished. "This tissue's dead. I mean, long dead before they were sliced up and put into these jars."

"I found some test results over here," Oliver called out from the computer he had managed to get running. "I think I'm going to be sick." His voice shook as he kept reading.

"Bad?"

"They used the tissue from dead squids in the experiments. It didn't end well." He scrolled through the records. "Severe pain, rejection of tissue, madness, death, it gets worse from one to the next."

"Did they discontinue the tests?" Alex leaned down to read over his shoulder.

"No." Oliver slammed his hand down on the console, closing the experiment records. "They kept going, over and over again. They hoped to learn from the failed experiments, try and figure out where they went wrong, but got nowhere. They only stopped because they ran out of genetic source material, and all their subjects died."

"All right," Alex said. "Ash, is there any sort of system you can tap into to burn this place out? Some sort of mass purge, or decontamination?"

"Sure," Ash nodded. "It'll take me a minute to get into it, but I can set something up."

"Do it," Oliver told him. "I'm going to wipe the files."

"Don't you think they've already got copies of all these files?" Titus asked.

"I don't care," Oliver snapped at him. "I'm not leaving until all of this is gone. At the very least, if we don't make it to the end, they'll have to rebuild from scratch."

"Hey," Bob came up behind him, laying his hands on Oliver's shoulders and squeezing gently. "We'll make it, don't you worry. Nothing's going to stop us."

Oliver closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Yeah," he nodded. "All right." He entered the final command and watched the computer delete the files.

"I've got the decontamination protocols up," Ash said. "I can put it on a slight delay so we can get out, but once they're activated, they'll burn everything in this room, melt it all into slag."

"Good," Oliver said, getting to his feet. "I'm done, we can go now."

"Make sure we can get away safely, and then activate the protocols," Alex told Ash. "Let's get the hell out of here, this place is giving me the creeps."

#

After they left the labs behind them, they cut through the living quarters section without any stops. They reached the prison section, and paused in front of the heavy bulkhead doors.

"How many guards are we looking at?" Titus asked Ash.

"Too many for the eight of us to take on," Ash shook his head. "They're spread out throughout the place, but still too many."

"Can you tap into the life support maybe, turn off their oxygen, take them out that way?"

"No can do," Ash said. "I can't access the prison systems from here. I doubt I'd be able to do it from in there, either."

"Then what do we do?" Titus asked.

"We've come this far," Alex said. "We go in, do our best to come back out again." She reloaded her blasters and the pulse rifle slung over her shoulder. "We've got the element of surprise, we can do this."

"Bob and I will take the lead," Henry stepped up beside her. "Alex, you and Teri and Oliver in the middle, and Titus, Dirk, and Ash will bring up the rear."

"All right," Alex nodded. "Everyone get ready. Ash, give us a count of ten, then open the doors." She eyed the bag slung over Henry's shoulder. "You got anything good in there?"

"How about a couple of flashbangs?" Henry held up the grenades with a grin.

"Why not just go for the big boom?" Titus asked, bringing out a couple of grenades of his own. "Or a combination of the two?"

"I knew I could count on the two of you to have things covered," Alex grinned. "All right," she said. "Ash, open the doors, you two toss in your toys, and then we go in. Rebreathers on, just in case."

Ash counted off the ten seconds then opened the doors. Startled shouts sounded from the room as Henry and Titus both tossed in their grenades then ducked behind the wall. Once they'd gone off, Henry and Bob led the way, firing as soon as they were inside. The others followed, staying clustered together and peering through the smoke to pick off any remaining guards. The room was cleared in a matter of seconds, and they took up positions by the next door, while Ash crouched by a computer terminal.

"What are you doing?" Titus asked.

"I'm trying to see if I can get in from this side," he said, his voice muffled by his rebreather. "Anything to make things easier, right?"

"Can you?"

"I don't know, give me a minute," he said.

"You guys have any more of those grenades?" Alex asked Henry and Titus, and they both nodded. "Good. Unless Ask can come up with something, same approach as before. Grenades, then we go in and clean up."

"What if they know what we did and they're waiting for us?"

"Then we fight our way through the hard way," Alex shrugged. "I'm not about to turn back now."

"I'm afraid we're on our own," Ash called out. "All their systems are locked down. If I had a couple of days, I could maybe try and hack in, but there's nothing I can do in a few minutes."

"All right," Alex nodded. "Everyone knows what to do. Grenades ready?" When Henry and Titus nodded, she slapped the control panel by the door and it slid open, revealing a large room beyond. Before the grenades went off, Oliver saw a second level catwalk stretching around the room, metal ringing as the guards ran to take their positions.

When the smoke from the flashbangs and the explosion billowed in the room, they moved in, firing in all directions to take out as many of the guards before the smoke cleared. One of the last guards left managed to get closer to their position, and a shot from his blaster clipped Alex's shoulder, making her cry out and lose her hold on her rifle momentarily. Henry screamed, a frightening sound even through his rebreather, and threw himself at the guard, tackling him to the floor. He straddled the man, and brought the butt of his rifle down on his head repeatedly. It took Alex shouting his name three times before he responded, stumbling over to her.

"Are you all right?" He ran his hands over her, checking for injuries.

"I'm fine," she said, her voice shaky. "It was just a graze, nothing serious."

"I told you, you should have—"

"We are not doing this right now," she told him. "I know how to take care of myself, you don't have to worry."

"You're not just taking care of—"

"Henry, please," she said, pulling down her rebreather and coughing a bit from the lingering smoke. "I'm all right. Please." She leaned into him and he wrapped his arms around her.

"What's that about?" Titus asked Oliver. "I've never seen them like this."

"I don't know," Oliver said. "With Cal sick, maybe he's overly worried about Alex?"

"That's a lot of worry," Titus said, glancing at the body behind them.

"Where are we?" Bob asked Ash. "How much farther to go?"

"We're here," Ash said, checking his wrist computer. "According to these schematics, we're in the center of the station. There should be an entrance to the cells over there," he pointed to the second level of the room.

Bob and Oliver took off running for the ladders, Titus following behind them. As Bob and Oliver went straight for the door, Titus walked around the room, using the higher vantage point to make sure they were alone.

Bob pounded on the doors, slapping his hand against the controls, but they didn't budge.

"Ash!" Oliver called down. "Can you get these doors open?"

"Not from down here," Ash shook his head. "Hang on a minute, I'll be right up."

It took a few minutes to hack the door, but eventually, he got the doors open, stepping aside so that Bob and Oliver could get inside. Titus followed them, his blaster still drawn, ready for trouble. When Bob opened the last door and stepped into the spartan suite of rooms, Titus moved to stand beside Oliver.

"Whatever it is, I'm not in the mood for it," a woman's voice said from deeper inside the room.

"Whatever you say, Princess," Bob said, his voice cracking on the words. "Guess I can always come back another time."

"Robert?" There was a crash of broken glass, and the woman threw herself at Bob, wrapping her arms around him. He clung to her, burying his face in her shoulder, one hand cupping the back of her head. He spun her around, then set her down on the floor and pulled back just enough so he could kiss her.

Oliver took in his parents' reunion until he felt tears stinging his eyes. He turned away, ducking his head to lean his forehead against Titus, and let the tears flow.

#

Later, when they were out of hyperspace and back to Medusa, the _Phoenix_ and the _Seraphim_ captains signed off with a cheerful "see you at the wedding!" Titus spun around to Alex.

"What did you do?"

"I sent a message ahead, to let them know the rescue mission was a success. Your fathers sent back their congratulations on a job well done, and informed us that since both families were now complete, they'd be going ahead with planning the wedding," Alex told them with a wide grin.

"I really wish you hadn't done that," Titus said, burying his face in his hands. "I was hoping we could still somehow avoid making a big deal out of it."

"Are you kidding?" Alex laughed incredulously. "You're the only son of the _pirate king_. Oliver's the _crown prince_ of a whole planet. I don't think there's any possibility of your wedding not being a big deal. Ever. In any universe."

"Yeah," Titus frowned. "Thanks."

"Did someone say wedding?" Dirk asked as he came onto the bridge. "I love weddings!"

"You're not invited," Titus told him, banging his head against his console.

"Stop breaking my ship," Alex told him. "What have you got, Dirk?"

"I've finished the princess' medical exam," Dirk told her. "She's a little undernourished, and she could use a nice vacation somewhere warm and sunny, but other than that, she's actually in surprisingly good shape. Excellent, in fact." He slouched into his chair, leaning back as far as it would let him. "She and Bob are in sickbay, getting some rest. Oliver's resting, too, in case you're wondering. The jumps in and out of hyperspace take a lot out of him."

"Alex?" Titus shot to his feet.

"Go," she waved him off. "We've got a few hours till we're back at Medusa. Enjoy what's left of your bachelorhood."

Titus headed for the quarters he shared with Oliver. It would be one of the last nights they'd spend on board as part of the _Nemesis_ ' crew, unless something drastic happened to change their plans. He went slowly, running his hand over the deckplates in the corridor, and then paused in front of his and Oliver's door, pressing his hand to it for a moment before opening it.

Oliver was already in bed, curled up on top of the covers, lying with his back to the door. Titus moved quietly so as not to wake him. Gently, he pulled the blanket out from under Oliver and curled up beside him, pulling the blanket over the two of them. Oliver stirred and turned to face Titus, and they lay there, foreheads pressed together.

"Hi," Oliver said, blinking sleepily.

"Hi," Titus answered.

"What's going on?"

"We're on the way to Medusa," Titus said. "There's going to be a wedding when we get back."

Oliver grinned and snuggled closer, tucking his head in under Titus' chin and nuzzling the skin there. "Guess this one of our last nights as bachelors."

"Don't say that too loud," Titus said. "I don't want anyone to get any ideas about a stag party."

"Oh?" Oliver nipped at Titus' collarbone. "You don't a party with lots of drinking and strippers and other inappropriate things?"

"I probably wouldn't mind it so much if it wasn't organized by Dirk and Ash," Titus said, leaning his head back to allow Oliver better access. As Oliver's teeth grazed his skin, he shivered.

"It's faded," Oliver said, lifting his head.

"Hmm?"

"The last time we did this, I left a mark," Oliver said. "Right here," he pressed his finger to the reddened spot he'd nipped. "It's faded."

"Well, then," Titus turned to lie on his back, looking up at Oliver. "Maybe you'd better put it back, then."

"I'd better," Oliver grinned, leaning on one elbow and looking over Titus, stretched out beside him. "Or maybe we'd better wait till after the wedding," he said. "We don't want you sporting marks during the ceremony." He trailed a finger over Titus' chest until he reached the edge of his shirt, and slid his hand underneath. "Then again, there _are_ other places that won't be visible." He paused, lifting his head. "We're not going to have to wear some weird outfits, are we? Or go naked for the whole thing?"

Titus laughed. "No, nothing like that. At least, not to my knowledge."

"Oh well," Oliver shrugged and returned his attention to what he was doing. "We'll just have to take the risk."

#

Three days later, Oliver stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his jacket cuffs for what seemed like the twentieth time. Bob's hands came down on his shoulders, squeezing lightly.

"Nervous?"

"Yeah," Oliver said, tugging at his left sleeve. "What was it like, when you and mom got married?"

"We didn't have a big wedding," Bob said, his smile warming his voice. "It had to be a small ceremony, with Alastair's people on our tail. We were hiding out on Larius at the time, living in a small house by the beach. The day I proposed to your mother, we were walking by his house, and he saw us talking. After I proposed, he came out to meet us and told us he could marry us if we wanted."

Oliver grinned. "That was lucky."

"You have no idea. It turned out the man was Daniel Valtameri, the Viceroy of Larius. He knew who we were, recognized us from the broadcasts Alastair was sending out. Instead of turning us in, he moved us into a bigger house, kept us safe until you were born." Bob brushed something off the shoulder of Oliver's jacket. "You know, you were conceived the night your mother and I were married."

"Dad!" Oliver gaped at Bob. "I don't want to know that!"

"Is it too early to talk about you and Titus having children? Your mother and I would love the chance to be grandparents."

"Speak for yourself, Robert," Viviane said from where she was standing by the door. "I'm still getting used to being a mother, there's plenty of time for the next step." She came closer, leaning in to kiss Oliver's cheek. "How are you, darling?"

"I'm good," Oliver nodded. "Nervous."

"You'll be fine," Viviane said, smoothing Oliver's hair where it stubbornly stuck up.

"That's what I told him," Bob said. He and Viviane stood together, looking at Oliver with matching smiles on their faces. Oliver stared at them for a moment, then stepped in close, wrapping his arms around them and pulling them into a hug.

"I'm really glad I found the two of you," he said, his voice muffled by Bob's shoulder. "I can't see myself doing this if you weren't here."

He felt Viviane's hand petting his hair, and Bob's arm wrapped around him tightly. "We're glad to be here, son," Bob told him, his voice shaking a bit on the last word. "Now, what do you say we go and get you married off, before someone thinks you got cold feet?"

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and when Viviane opened it, she stepped aside to let in Alex.

"I don't think I've ever seen you dressed like this," she said, taking in Oliver's fancy suit. "Looking sharp. Titus is going to love it. Got your vows?"

"All memorized," Oliver tapped his temple. "I just hope I don't forget them."

"You'll be fine," she said. "Come on, it's time to go. Your honor guard's waiting outside."

"Honor guard?" Oliver grimaced. "What for?"

"You're a prince yourself, and you're marrying the son of the king," Alex pointed out. "I'd have been surprised if you didn't get one."

Oliver sighed. "We should have eloped," he muttered, turning back to the mirror one more time and straightening his jacket. "All right," he said. "Lead the way," he motioned to the door.

When they stepped outside, a cheer went up from the crowd, and suddenly Oliver was glad for the group of armed men and women waiting for him. They closed ranks around him and his parents, Alex moving ahead of them through the crowd.

#

"Titus, will you please stop fidgeting?" Joseph tightened his grip on Titus' arms, forcing him to stay still as Joseph made the last adjustments to Titus' jacket.

"I can't help it," Titus said. He slid a finger under his collar, pulling it away from his neck. "This is too tight."

"It's _fine_ ," Joseph pulled his hand away. "You need to relax."

"We should have eloped," Titus muttered, and Joseph looked up sharply.

"Don't let your father hear you say that," he said, glaring at Titus. "This is as big a deal for him as it is for you."

"Right," Titus groused. "I'm the one who's getting married."

"You don't think he knows what that feels like? At least you and Oliver love each other."

"You didn't?" Titus looked to Joseph, frowning.

"Not before we got married, no," Joseph shook his head. "It was an arranged marriage, remember? Political alliances trump personal feelings."

"I'm sorry," Titus said.

"Don't be. It didn't take long for your father to win me over. You should have seen him," Joseph laughed. "He tried so hard."

"As if you didn't," Francis Casey stepped into the room, grinning. "I seem to recall a concerted effort on your part to make me fall in love with you."

"It worked, didn't it?" Joseph asked, going to meet his husband and kissing him. "You're still here."

"I am," Francis nodded, then turned to Titus. "I want you to know, if there's even a small part of you that's not convinced this is the right thing to do, you can still back out."

"No!" Titus glared. "Why would you even say something like that?"

"Because no one's going to force you to do this against your will," Francis said.

"Nobody's forcing me to do anything," Titus said. "Except wear this," he looked down at his outfit.

"You look very dashing," Joseph came back to him and picked a thread off Titus' sleeve. "Now, I believe Oliver is on his way with his parents and the honor guard, we should get going or else we'll be late."

"Right," Titus said, staring at his reflection in the mirror. He smoothed a hand over his hair, and drew himself up to his full height. "Getting married. Right."

There was a knock on the door and Alex poked her head in. "Is he freaking out yet?" She came in, grinning.

"We're just about there," Joseph told her, grinning as well.

"Good thing I'm here, then," Alex said. "Come on, let's get you married." She took Titus' hand and pulled him toward the door. "Oliver will be here any minute, you should be waiting for him."

"Thank you for helping out," Titus told Alex as they headed for the main hall.

She turned to him and gave him a once-over. "All right, this is it," she pointed to the door. "You ready? Got your vows and everything?"

Titus took a deep breath and let the air out slowly. "Yeah," he nodded. "Let's do this."

Alex laughed. "That's the spirit."

She led the way into the room beyond, Titus coming to a dead stop three steps in.

"What the hell did they do, invite everyone on the station?" He took in the gathered audience, made up of the crews of the ships docked at Medusa. He could see Dirk and Ash and Teri near the front, and Captain Peterson and her crew behind them. Ryan and Bobert were at the very front, bouncing with excitement along with Emily, who craned her neck and waved to him from her seat.

"Yeah. Pretty much," Alex said. "Come on, lover boy. Let's not keep them waiting." She nudged Titus forward with a hand on his back, and he started to walk toward the front of the room. Everyone got to their feet, craning their necks to see him. Titus looked around for Alex, but she was already making her way to her seat, going around the long way.

He took another deep breath and let it out as he walked toward his fathers, who stood at the front, waiting for him with smiles on their faces. When Titus reached them, Francis clapped him on the back and gave him a wink. Titus smiled nervously and turned to face the back of the room, where the large double doors had just opened, admitting the honor guard.

Robert and Viviane followed after the first row of guards, holding hands as they walked, both of them beaming proudly. Oliver had a nervous smile on his face, and Titus flexed his hands, trying to surreptitiously dry them on his pants. Finally, after what seemed like several hours, the honor guard reached the front and parted to allow Bob and Viviane to take their seats. Oliver stepped forward next, giving Titus a small but brilliant smile as they moved to stand in front of Joseph, who would be performing the ceremony in his capacity as one o the commanders of the station.

Joseph cleared his throat and a hush fell over the room.

"It seems like it was a very long time ago when I stood in this room, waiting for my own marriage ceremony. I barely knew my husband-to-be, unlike Titus and Oliver, and the circumstances were a bit different, but the idea was the same: to make the marriage symbolic of something larger, an alliance between two groups of people, strengthening the bonds between them as it itself grew stronger." He looked around the room, and smiled. "You two will have an easier job of it, I think," he looked down at Titus and Oliver. "I only have to look at the two of you to see how you feel about each other, and it is my sincere hope that what you have will continue to grow and expand.

"We're here to celebrate the union of these two, a relationship strengthened by the love they have for each other. No matter the other reasons, this is the most important one. Life has led them to each other, and together, it brought them here. They stand on the threshold of a life together, in which they will share their desires and dreams, their joys and sorrows. They will face everything together, in companionship and happiness, in union and fidelity, and they will be stronger for it.

"Titus, Oliver, you stand here side by side, ready to take this step. You will look to each other for comfort, support, love, understanding, and protection. Never take each other for granted, and remember that you make this commitment to stand by each other through the good and the bad."

When Joseph motioned to him, Titus blinked at him for a moment, then unfroze, turning to Oliver, taking his hand.

"Oliver, you're my best friend, and I love you. You were there for me from the beginning, when I needed you, and when I didn't even know that I did. I'd dreamed of finding someone like you, but I never thought I would actually find you. You loved me without reservation, without wanting to change who I was. I can only hope that everything you have been for me, I can be for you. We may not have the easiest life ahead of us, but I know that whatever we have to face, it'll be easier because we'll do it together."

Oliver squeezed his hand and grinned, beginning his own vows.

"Whatever's ahead for us, good or bad, I know that our love will make us stronger. You're the best partner I could ask for, and I am lucky to have you in my life. I make this commitment not because I have to, but because I want to. I want you by my side, always and forever, because together, we are stronger than anything life can throw at us. I promise to give you the best of myself, and ask no more of you than you can give. You are my one true love, and I promise to be the best partner that I can be."

Joseph beamed at them as they stood there, hands clasped together. Finally, he nodded to Ryan and Bobert, who stepped forward, each of them holding a ring in his open hand. Titus and Oliver each took one, and Titus swallowed nervously.

"I give you this ring as a sign of my love, with all that I am, and all that I have." He slid it on Oliver's finger, his sweaty fingers slipping off the ring momentarily. Oliver laughed, taking hold of Titus' hand and steadying him.

Oliver slid the ring on Titus' finger smoothly, reciting the vows quietly, the smile on his face adding warmth and feeling to the words. When they were done, Joseph stepped forward, taking their hands in his.

"Your vows have pledged you to each other, to go through life side by side, supporting each other in times of need. May your lives be long and seasoned with love, understanding, and respect." He grinned at them, releasing their hands. "I now pronounce you wed, bound together by your pledges and the commitment you have made to each other in front of all these witnesses." He winked at them as he stepped back.

Titus stepped closer to Oliver, then let go of his hand, taking hold of the lapels of Oliver's jacket. "Let's make this really official," he said, and pulled Oliver into a kiss. Oliver returned the embrace, wrapping Titus in his arms. The kiss went on for a long time, and when they finally pulled apart, both of them out of breath, the cheer that went up from the audience when they'd started kissing grew even louder.

Francis came up to stand beside them, his hands on their shoulders. "I think that's enough ceremony for now," he said. "It wouldn't be a wedding without a raucous party, so let's get things started!"

At some point during the evening, Titus danced with Alex, while Oliver danced with Teri and Francis took a turn on the dancefloor with Viviane.

"I'm really happy for you guys," Alex told him. "I'm pissed I'm losing two of my crew, though. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a good crew that works well together?"

"You're the best captain I've ever known," Titus said. "You're going to have people lining up to work on your ship."

"Yeah, right," Alex scoffed, but she was grinning.

"Speaking of happy," Titus said. "I haven't seen you look like this in a long time. You're practically radiant."

Alex grinned. "I guess the pregnancy agrees with me," she said.

"Seriously? That's great!" Titus pulled her into a hug, interrupting the rhythm of the dance. "Congratulations. You guys must be thrilled."

"We are," Alex nodded. "We're kinda freaked out, too, 'cuz Cal's pregnant, too."

Titus gaped. "What?"

"Yeah. Turns out he wasn't actually sick, like we'd thought," Alex said. "In our reading about the Ephere, neither Henry nor I found anything about that, but apparently it's something they do?"

"What are you going to do?"

"We're thinking about it," Alex said. "There's a lot of that to do. Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something. I know this isn't really the time or place for it, but..."

"Don't worry about it," Titus told her, spinning her around the dance floor. When she was back in his arms, he nodded. "Go on."

"I was thinking that with the pregnancies, and with the three of us raising Emily, we're going to sit things out for a while."

"Will you be staying here on Medusa?"

"I don't know," Alex said. "But we'll be sitting out the fight. We can still help out around here if we stay."

"This was why Henry was so upset when you got shot, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Alex nodded. "I think it's a good idea for us to stay out of the excitement for a while."

"Yeah," Titus said. "The three of you will make a great family, though. You already do," he glanced to the front of the room where Bobert and Ryan were holding hands with Emily, dancing on the edge of the crowd on the dancefloor.

Someone tapped Titus' shoulder, and he turned to find Henry standing behind him. "Mind if I cut in?"

"Not at all," Titus said. "Congratulations, by the way." He stepped aside, moving to hand Alex's hand over to Henry. When Henry took his hand and pulled him close instead, Titus spluttered.

"Have fun, you two," Alex grinned at them. "I'm going to go rest my feet." They watched her go and then Henry swept Titus into his arms and led him into the crowd.

#

"Has there been any response from Cassadia Archele to our messages?" Oliver asked, refilling his coffee cup. The situation room's walls were lined with computer terminals, a large projection in the middle of the room showing the position of the Cassadian and Medusan fleets, as well as the locations of the ongoing skirmishes between the two.

"Duke Alastair has cut off communications outside of the planetary network," Joseph told him. "What little chatter we've managed to pick up indicates that he's gearing up to take the fight farther away from Cassadia."

"So we don't even know if the messages are getting through," Viviane said. "It definitely sounds like something Alastair would do."

"You know him better than anyone else here," Joseph turned to her. "Is there anything we can do to trip him up?"

Viviane shook her head. "He was well on his way to seizing control before we left, I can only imagine the iron grip he's got on things right now. Any vulnerability I might think of, he's probably taken care of a long time ago."

"So what you're saying is that he's not going to give up without a fight," Oliver said.

"And we can't take the fight to him, by say, sending in assassins, because we're trying to keep our side legitimate," Titus added. "What pisses me off is that he's attacking our people, and yet we're the ones in the wrong."

"What about trying to get a message to the people through the resistance? Surely they must have some communications channels available?"

"In the last three weeks, Alastair has practically annihilated what little resistance was left," Viviane clenched her hands into fists. "He's got the people of Cassadia under military control. Anyone speaking out against the regime is punished swiftly and severely. I will not risk anyone's life to get the message through."

"So, what, we just sit here and wait for them to come to us?" Titus asked. "Every day we wait, he's gathering more allies and troops."

"The Cassadian fleet has been massing near the Charybdis Cluster," Francis said. "So far, they're not doing much more than harassing our trade routes, but they're obviously planning something. Personally, I'm getting tired of waiting. I say we take the fleet out there and meet him head on."

"I agree," Viviane said. "Perhaps if we send the message to the ships in the fleet, we can get at least some of them to defect to our side. Captain Casey—"

"Francis, please," Francis told her. "We're family now, there's no need for formality.

"All right," Viviane smiled. "Francis. We'll need something to strengthen the signal, in case he's jamming communications to his ships. Can your people manage that?"

Francis nodded. "I have just the thing. Anything else?"

"Sending the whole fleet at once might be overkill. Perhaps a small delegation at first, keeping the bulk of the fleet back in case of trouble?"

"Sounds like a good idea," Francis said. "There's a jump gate just off Charybdis, so we can get there quickly if need be. Captain Williams of the _Centurion_ will lead the task force. Titus, you'll be in command of the _Kraken_ , and you'll lead the rest of the fleet."

Titus gaped at his father. "You're giving me your flagship?"

"I told you I was putting you in charge of the fleet, didn't I?"

"What about you?"

"I'm the king," Francis said. "I've got king things to do." He grinned.

"I get that you want me to learn about all of this," Titus said, "but don't you think this isn't the best way to get started?"

"It's how I learned, and it worked fine for me," Francis told him. "You'll be fine."

"That's what they always say," Titus grumbled.

Oliver sat beside Titus. "You're a good man, Titus, and I know you'll do a good job with this."

"I appreciate your confidence, Oliver, but I'm—"

"You'll be fine," Oliver said, and shut Titus up with a kiss. When he pulled back, he turned to Joseph. "In the meantime, I suggest we step up the frequency of the messages. If we bombard Cassadia with enough of them, something might get through."

"We should send them out to Cassadia's allies, as well," Bob suggested. "If they know that Alastair is usurping the throne from two generations of rightful rulers, they might withdraw their support."

"Sounds good," Francis said, getting to his feet. "Come on, Joseph, let's leave them to it."

"Wait, what? You're leaving?" Titus shot up from his chair.

"You're in charge, Titus, you don't need us," Joseph told him. "We have every confidence in you."

Titus sank into his chair, watching his fathers leave the room. After a moment, he realized the room had fallen almost completely silent, and that everyone's eyes were on him. Resisting the urge to run screaming from the room, he got to his feet and walked to the main display.

"Right," he said. "Let's get to work. Start sending out the messages, on every channel and bandwidth available, even the ones not commonly used. Loop the signals, overlap them if you have to. They want to shut us out, let's make them work for it."

#

When Oliver found him, Titus was sitting at his desk in the captain's cabin, asleep face down on a pile of flexis. Oliver nudged him awake, frowning at the lines the edges of the flexis had left imprinted on Titus' face.

"What's going on?" Titus asked sleepily.

"I'm sorry to wake you, but we've got a problem," Oliver said. "We've been monitoring the situation at Charybdis, and the _Centurion_ just sent us a message. The Cassadian fleet is more massive than we thought, Captain Williams' task force is outnumbered."

Titus sat up, running a hand over his face, trying to wake up completely. "Are we going in?"

"That's your decision, captain," Oliver said, his lips twitching.

"I wish you wouldn't call me that," Titus said, getting to his feet and straightening his jacket. "Come on, let's go."

"I have an idea that could help," Oliver told him as they headed to the bridge. "It might give us an element of surprise."

"Oh?"

"What if we brought some of the squids with us? We have to go through hyperspace to get to Charybdis anyway, I could try and ask some of them to come with us."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? We've been trying to keep their existence a secret."

"If we lose this conflict, Alastair knows they exist anyway," Oliver said. "And if we win, they'll be safe from him."

"All right," Titus nodded. "Do what you can, see if you can convince any of them to come with us."

They reached the bridge, and when the doors opened, the noise flooded over both of them. Titus sat in the captain's chair, issuing orders as he took in the situation and the ship got ready to get under way. Oliver watched Titus for a moment, then went to take his seat beside him.

The crew of the _Kraken_ were efficient and worked well together, even with a new captain. The ship was ready for the jump to hyperspace in minutes, and the navigator took her toward the jump gate. Oliver closed his eyes and gripped the armrests of his chair—since the events on the _Pathos Verdes_ , gated jumps made him nauseous and uneasy, their forced nature making him feel like something was tugging at his insides.

Once the jump was complete, he felt better, and he reached out with his mind, searching for any squids in the vicinity. He found several of them, and they agreed to help almost immediately. He could hear them sending out his plea for help further out, and before long, the ship was surrounded by them.

Oliver opened his eyes and glanced around the bridge. Everyone was focused on their work, but he couldn't help but notice an added tension in their shoulders.

He turned to Titus, who was watching him closely. "Everything OK?"

"Yeah," Titus nodded. Everyone's just a little freaked out. Can't say I entirely blame them," he pointed to his monitor, which was showing the external feed of the _Kraken_. The squids floated in a swarm around the ship, some of them coming so close to the hull that they were practically touching it.

Oliver grinned. "They've grown," he said.

"Can they help?"

"They say they can," he nodded. "I may have possibly let it slip that Alastair and his people are trying to continue the experiments from the _Pathos Verdes_."

"I bet that didn't go over well," Titus said. "Ask them not to do anything unless we need them to, OK? I'd still like to avoid an all-out fight if it's at all possible."

"Already done," Oliver said. "How far are we from Charybdis?"

"Another five minutes to the gate, sir," the navigator answered. "Is there anything that needs doing before we come out of hyperspace?"

"No," Oliver shook his head. "Thank you."

Titus activated the fleet-wide comms channel. "This is Ti—" he broke off. He cleared his throat and started again. "This is Commodore Casey speaking. We're getting ready to leave hyperspace. I want everyone at battle stations and ready for anything. We're not sure what we're heading into, but from the _Centurion_ 's last transmission, there could be trouble."

As Oliver watched, Titus' monitor showed the different parts of the ship checking in with battle readiness. As the navigator called out their approach to the gate, Oliver reached over and took Titus' hand, closing his eyes for the passage into normal space.

They emerged into chaos, a barrage of weapons fire skimming the hull of the _Kraken_ , making the whole ship shudder and shake. Oliver watched the external monitor, which showed the squid had scattered away from the ship, falling back. He pulled his attention away from them and focused on what was ahead of the ship—the task force, outnumbered three to one, pummeled by weapons fire from all sides. The _Centurion_ 's hull was scored and blackened, and the smaller ships of the task force were looking worse for wear. On the other side of the fight loomed the _Vanguard_ , surrounded by smaller ships, all of them bristling with weapons.

Titus was on his feet, taking in the situation playing out in front of them, issuing orders both to the crew on board and to the other ships in the fleet. He paced around the bridge, pausing by the comms officer's console.

"Can you tap into their communications?"

"Yes, sir," the officer nodded, her fingers already flying over her console. "We've been able to boost our signal, we can cut through right their jamming." Her eyes widened and she turned to Titus. "Sir, Duke Alastair is on board the _Vanguard_ ," she said. "He's coordinating the attack."

"Cocky bastard," Titus muttered, turning to Oliver. "What do you think, should we try and talk with him?"

Oliver nodded. "We should at least give him the chance."

"Open a channel to the _Vanguard_ ," Titus told the comms officer. "Don't just hail them, force the connection through. Let's show them they can't shut us up anymore."

"Aye, sir," she nodded, and entered a series of commands. The main screen changed views, showing them the _Vanguard_ 's bridge, full of surprised people doing their best to pretend they hadn't been caught by surprise. One of them was familiar; they'd met Captain Kye before the _Vanguard_ had blown the _Serene Coalescence_ out of the Cassadian sky. He looked a little different now, with a fresh scar bisecting his right cheek from just below his eye down to his chin

"Cassadian ship _Vanguard_ , this is Commodore Titus Casey of the _Kraken_ ," Titus said coming to stand in the middle of the bridge. "Break off your attack. I'd like to speak to Duke Alastair."

"You're in no position to make demands, Captain Casey," Captain Kye came forward. "You're outnumbered and outgunned."

"Perhaps," Titus said, "but we have someone you don't." He stepped aside and motioned Oliver to come forward. "You remember Crown Prince Oliver, don't you?"

Emotion flickered across Kye's face before he composed himself again. "Your Highness," he nodded. "It's good to see you again. Are you unharmed?"

"Contrary to what you may have heard, Captain Kye, I haven't been abducted, or forced into anything," Oliver said. "I am here of my own will, and I am here to ask you to break off your attack. There are better ways of settling this conflict." He stepped forward. "Please, captain. Let me speak with my uncle."

Kye stared at him impassively without answering.

"Captain, listen to me—"

"Fire on that ship!" Someone shouted from the back of the _Vanguard_ 's bridge. Oliver watched as Duke Alastair approached captain Kye, yanking on the man's arm to turn him away from the screen. "Captain, you have your orders!"

"Captain Kye, that man is not your rightful sovereign," Oliver reminded him. "He hasn't been since you saw my identity verified back on the _Coalescence_."

As they watched, Duke Alastair whirled on the viewscreen, his face red and twisted in a grimace. He stared at Oliver for a moment, then turned back to captain Kye, drawing his weapon as he turned. A shot rang out and Kye crumpled to the floor at Alastair's feet. The duke turned all around the bridge, brandishing his blaster.

"Is there anyone else who would like to question my orders?" None of the bridge crew met his eyes, and he grinned triumphantly, an expression that looked scarily like a rictus of pain. "I will not be undermined by some illegitimate half-breed whelp who thinks he can take what is rightfully mine," he snarled. "Now, get that off my viewscreen and fire on that ship!" He pointed his finger at the viewscreen. The picture went dead after a moment, and the last thing they saw was someone holding out a bundle of cables ripped out of a console.

"Sir, they're charging weapons!"

"Open fire!" Titus told Lareto, the security officer. "Everything we've got, throw it all at them."

"Aye, sir!"

The _Kraken_ 's weapons did a lot of damage to the _Vanguard_ , but the Cassadian ship had it outgunned. For every blast that connected with it, the _Kraken_ took three, and soon the advantage tipped irreversibly toward the _Vanguard_. The _Kraken_ shook under the barrage, alarms flashing, and Oliver stared at the main screen, which showed the positions of the ships involved in the firefight. The ships they'd brought with them moved in to help defend the _Kraken_ and were blasted aside by the _Vanguard_ 's superior firepower. Oliver closed his eyes and clung to Titus.

"I love you," he whispered, ducking his head and burying his face in Titus' shoulder.

A minute later, when it finally registered that the ship had stopped shaking, he lifted his head. The bridge crew had already started to move in to do repairs, but their gazes kept drifting to the main screen. Someone had switched it to the exterior feed, and they watched the squids swarm the _Vanguard_ , enveloping it completely. Oliver reached out to the squids, but they wouldn't respond, no matter how hard he tried to reach them.

"What are they doing?" Titus asked.

"I think they're saving us," Oliver said, getting to his feet. "I can't get an answer from them."

"Sir, the _Vanguard_ 's structural integrity is compromised," Lareto told Titus. "They're about thirty seconds from imploding."

"Oliver?" Titus looked to him, and Oliver shook his head.

"I'm trying," he said. "They've shut me out completely."

They turned the screen, where the squids were detaching themselves from the hull of the _Vanguard_ , leaving it broken and cracked. As they watched, the ship buckled and twisted, and then exploded, taking with it a few of the smaller Cassadian ships which had drifted too close to them.

"Well, that's one less problem to deal with," Titus said. "Good riddance."

"Don't say that," Oliver said.

"Don't tell me you're actually feeling sorry for them," Titus rolled his eyes. "Come on, they damned near killed us!"

"There were people on that ship who did nothing wrong," Oliver said. "We don't know that they were all loyal to Alastair."

"Sir, we've got a ship incoming," Lareto called out.

"Oh, what now?" Titus groaned.

"It's one of ours," the officer sagged with relief. "It's the _Pegasus_ , sir."

"Sir, they're broadcasting a message on all frequencies," the comms officer called out. "Our equipment is blocking it, but it's coming through to all the ships, whether they want to hear it or not."

"Let's have a listen," Titus gave her a nod.

"This is the Medusan ship _Pegasus_ to the Cassadian fleet. We have Princess Viviane of Cassadia Archele on board, and she wishes to address you." There was a pause, and Oliver listened to his mother's voice deliver the rest of the message. "Ships of Cassadia Archele, I am sending an authorization code to prove my identity. You know that such a code cannot be falsified and is irrefutable proof I am who I claim to be. I'd like to ask you all to stand down from this fight. Duke Alastair has ordered these attacks illegally and by following his orders, you are committing treason against your rightful rulers. If you stand down, I promise you will not be held responsible."

"She doesn't know Alastair's dead," Titus said quietly as the message started to repeat. He turned to the comms officer. "Send a message to the _Pegasus_ , let them know what's happened."

"We're receiving a signal from them right now, sir," she told him.

"On screen," he said.

Viviane and Bob appeared on screen, and both of them looked relieved. "We thought you could use the backup," Bob said. "What's this about Alastair being dead?"

"It's a long story," Oliver said. "Suffice it to say the _Vanguard_ 's been destroyed, and Alastair was on board. Your message was actually timed rather well, we were just waiting to see what the rest of the fleet would do."

"Why don't you come aboard the _Kraken_ , and we'll coordinate things from here," Titus said. "I'm guessing we're not nearly done here."

An officer came up beside Viviane and handed her a flexi. She read it over, then handed it to Bob. "It looks like my message was effective," she said. "We're receiving messages from the Cassadian fleet ships, surrendering and pledging loyalty."

Oliver glanced at a smaller monitor where the ship positions were displayed, and saw some of the Cassadian ships moving to take up positions within the Medusan fleet.

"What do we do now?"

"I think we need to go to Cassadia Archele as soon as we can," Viviane said.

Bob looked pained for a moment, but nodded in agreement. "The sooner we get there, the better."

"We're not going to take the whole fleet with us," Titus said. "I don't want to make it look like we're coming in with an invasion force. Why don't you come on board, and we'll take a few of our ships along with those who've joined us?"

Bob and Viviane nodded. "See you soon."

#

"They're asking who's going to take the throne," Titus said, looking up from the flexis he'd been reading. "Public opinion seems to favor Princess Viviane, what with Oliver being married to a pirate." He grinned. "Seems the people have some concerns about the possible outside influences on their future ruler."

"Makes sense," Oliver nodded. "Besides, I don't really know if I'd even want to take the throne." He turned to Viviane and Bob. "We need to decide this, and soon. We can't stay up here in orbit forever."

"The security teams are finishing their sweeps of the palace and the capital city," Bob said. "I'm told there are already multiple celebrations planned."

"Celebrating our victory at Charybdis, no doubt," Oliver tossed the flexi he'd been reading onto the table. He turned to Viviane. "I don't want this," he said. "I don't want the throne." He stared out the viewport, watching the planet spinning down below them. "At least, not for a while."

Viviane went to join him, pulling him into a hug. "Nobody's going to force you to do anything you don't want," she told him. "You will at least attend the ceremonies, won't you? The people will want to see their prince."

"Even if he is married to a pirate," Bob added with a grin.

"Of course we will," Oliver said. "Won't we, Titus?"

"Do I have to wear a suit?" Titus grimaced.

"You can wear whatever you want," Oliver told him. "You're a pirate, nobody's going to expect you to adhere to the rules of etiquette."

"In fact, I'd say they'll probably expect you to flaunt the court fashions," Viviane laughed.

"So it's decided, then? You'll stay in power for the time being?" Oliver asked Viviane.

"For the time being," she nodded. "Perhaps it's time for the royal family to relinquish some of the power it holds. We'll have to go slowly, of course, to ease the people into that sort of change. But I think we can manage for now. Can't we?" She held out her hand to Bob, and he pulled her into an embrace.

"Great," Titus got to his feet. "I'll have the shuttle prepared to take us down. And we should probably let the folks down below know we're coming. Unless you'd rather make it a surprise?"

"When the security team finishes their sweep, they'll prepare for our arrival," Viviane said. "We just have to wait until they're done. In the meantime, I suggest we get some rest. The past few days haven't been the easiest, for any of us."

The doors of the conference room swung open, and a harried-looking crewman stepped in. "Ma'am," he said to Viviane, "I have a message from the security team for you. They've finished the sweep of the palace, and they're just about done with the capital city. Captain Stark says they're ready for your arrival."

"Thank you," Viviane told the crewman. "I guess you'd better get that shuttle ready, Titus. Rest will have to wait."

#

The reception they received down on the planet was overwhelming. In the short time between the Battle of Charybdis and their arrival at Cassadia Archele, news of the royal family's unexpected reunion had spread far and wide. Every town, no matter how large or small, was celebrating the return of the princess and her family. Every street in the capital city was decorated, and the closer to the palace it was, the more lavish and detailed the decorations. Crowds of people lined the flower-strewn streets, cheering as the shuttle touched down and the cortege started toward the palace.

At the palace, the prime minister waited at the top of the stairs. Viviane and Bob went first, accompanied by an honor guard, and Titus and Oliver followed. While the minister made his welcoming speech to Viviane, Oliver leaned over to Titus.

"You look very dashing," he whispered with a grin. "Very piratey."

Titus smirked and adjusted his long jacket, then reached for Oliver's hand. "You, too."

"I guess there's something to be said for being married to the future pirate king," Oliver said.

The prime minister was still going on about how happy the people of Cassadia were to see their rightful princess back on the throne. Titus tuned him out and leaned toward Oliver. "I was thinking about something earlier. What would you say to us adopting the twins?"

"I think that's a great idea," Oliver said. "Saves us having to find someone willing to have our children."

"Great! I'll tell my father when we get back."

"Wait, was this his idea?"

"No. Actually, I think he wouldn't like it. He thinks I've got too many guilt issues regarding their parents. I just wanted to come up with a different idea than what he would suggest, which is finding someone."

"Is that how you were born?"

"No," Titus laughed. "I was the result of an ill-advised drunken one-night stand. She left me in the airlock on Medusa and took off."

"Ouch," Oliver winced.

"Yep But I guess it all turned out all right in the end." Titus straightened up and nudged Oliver. "Here comes the prime minister."

Another long speech followed, and Titus and Oliver both smiled and nodded in the right places. Once it was over, everyone headed inside the palace, where a feast awaited them.

"Are there going to be more speeches?" Oliver fell back with Viviane, stifling a yawn.

"Probably," she said, patting his shoulder. "I'm sorry, darling. I know you'd much rather be on your honeymoon." Oliver blushed, and Viviane giggled. "I'll see if there's a way to cut this short."

"How much official stuff is there to do?"

"Too much," Viviane said, shaking her head. "I was never officially proclaimed heir to the throne, which is apparently how Alastair was able to justify taking power. The prime minister is taking care of all the formalities, but there are still some ceremonies to be performed."

"We'll be here for a while, then," Oliver said. "Do you think Titus and I would be able to get away for a few days at some point? There's got to be some nice vacation spots on the planet."

"There's a castle that belongs to the heir to the throne in the lake district north of the city," Viviane said. "Technically, I guess it's yours now. I'll have security sweep it tomorrow, and you two lovebirds can head out soon."

"Thanks, mom," Oliver gave her a one-armed hug. "Come on, let's go eat, I'm starving."

#

Titus watched from his seat to the side of the dais where Queen Viviane and her consort sat on their thrones, listening to the prime minister give a speech about the long and illustrious history of the family, and about the duties Oliver was about to assume as the heir apparent to the throne of Cassadia Archele. The list of duties was a lengthy one, and Titus wondered when exactly Oliver was supposed to live his life while taking care of his responsibilities. He'd been assured that most of the long list referred to obsolete functions that were mere formalities, but he didn't trust the officious men who'd surrounded them for the past week, interrupting at inopportune moments and not leaving them any time to themselves.

As Oliver knelt before the throne and the queen stood, drawing the ceremonial sword from the scabbard held by a young page, Titus leaned forward to get a better view. Viviane approached Oliver and solemnly touched the sword to his shoulders, naming him Duke of Virannor and proclaiming him heir to the throne of Cassadia Archele. Like he'd rehearsed, Oliver leaned forward reverently and kissed the blade of the sword, his lips barely touching the metal. Afterwards Viviane held out a hand and Oliver kissed the royal ring she wore before getting to his feet and taking his place at his mother's side before they headed out to the balcony.

"People of Cassadia Archele," the prime minister proclaimed, "I give you Duke Oliver, heir to the throne!" A cheer went up from the people gathered outside the palace, and Oliver and Viviane grinned, waving to the crowds. Titus and Bob joined them, waving to the crowds as well. It took a few minutes before the prime minister signaled that they could retire inside.

Later, there were more speeches, and a celebratory feast for the royal family and several dozen government officials, and following that, presentations of Very Important People to the royal couple and the heir apparent. When the band struck up the music and Viviane and Bob took to the floor in the first dance, Titus leaned over to Oliver.

"Do you think we can get out of here soon?"

Oliver nodded. "I'm sure I can plead exhaustion or something. What did you have in mind?"

Titus winked at him. He didn't want to make too big of a deal out of their departure, so he gritted his teeth and tried his best to enjoy himself. He danced a waltz with the queen, and another slow dance he couldn't quite identify with Oliver. The prime minister's people had taught them the basic steps, and they did a passable job, avoiding tripping and falling on their faces. Once their official dance was done, Oliver left the dance floor, and Titus danced with the prime minister's daughter. She fawned over him like a sycophant of the highest caliber, and it was with pleasure that Titus made the final bow of the dance.

He found Oliver on the balcony, looking out over the moonlit gardens. Sneaking up behind Oliver, he pinned him to the railing, leaning forward to speak into his ear.

"Don't turn around," he reached around Oliver to unbutton his shirt, nuzzling his neck at the same time.

"We can't do this here," Oliver said, his breath hitching as Titus' fingers slid below his waistband. "Someone's going to see."

Titus chuckled as he slid his hand under Oliver's shirt. " _Pirate_ ," he breathed into Oliver's ear. "You're right, though," he pulled his hand back, skimming Oliver's stomach, making him twitch. "Let's get out of here," he said, taking Oliver's hand. He led him down into the garden and around the main part of the palace, taking the back passages leading to the palace landing pad. When Oliver saw the shuttle waiting there with its ramp extended, he stopped in his tracks.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm kidnapping you," Titus told him with a grin, nudging him toward the waiting shuttle.

"Oh," Oliver said, a smile lighting up his face when he saw the bags stowed in the small cabin. "I see." He took his seat and brought his hand up to his forehead, leaning back dramatically. "Abducted by a pirate rogue, whatever shall I do?" He managed a straight face for about thirty seconds and then burst out laughing.

Titus laughed with him as the shuttle's ramp swung up and he ran through the takeoff procedure. They lifted off, leaving the brightly lit palace behind them, and he took the shuttle north, heading for the lakeside palace at Virannor. It wasn't the wide-open expanse of space, but for the two of them, it would be more than enough.


End file.
